Friday, March 15
Los Angeles, CA
1:30 PM
UCLA
vs
Arizona State
(Photo: Mac Brown)
No. 18 Women's Tennis Hosts Arizona State, Arizona Starting Friday
March 14, 2024 | Women's Tennis
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Friday, March 15/1:30 PM PT
ย ย ย ย Saturday, March 16/12:00 PM PT
Live Stream: https://ucla.in/3R2WTGN
Live Stats: https://ucla.in/3R2WTGN
Series vs. Arizona State: UCLA leads 62-19
Series vs. Arizona: UCLA leads 70-8
Last Meeting vs. ASU: ASU won 4-2 on April 8, 2023
Last Meeting vs. ARIZ: UCLA won 6-1 on April 7, 2023
THIS WEEK
No. 18 UCLA will conclude its seven-match homestand this week when No. 33 Arizona State and No. 42 Arizona visit Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Sun Devils (8-6, 0-2 Pac-12 drop in Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT, while the Wildcats (11-7, 0-2) are set for a 12 p.m. Saturday showdown. This week represents the second of conference action for each team. The Bruins (7-3, 2-0) swept Washington State and Washington in their league openers, while ASU and Arizona are each in search of its first league win after dropping decisions against California and Stanford.
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA women's tennis matches in person can still follow live. Point-by-point scores and live video will be available for all matches played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA swept Washington State (7-0 on March 8) and No. 25 Washington (4-0 on March 9) to open Pac-12 play at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Three players had two-win days for the Bruins versus the Cougars. Elise Wagle clinched the result. WSU collected a pair of singles sets, but both matches were ultimately won by UCLA in third-set, 10-point tiebreakers. Against the Huskies, Bianca Fernandez picked up her first career clinching singles win. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Tian Fangran were also triumphant for the Bruins. UW forced doubles play to go the distance and secured three singles sets in incomplete contests, but could not get on the scoreboard.
UCLA VS. ARIZONA STATE, ARIZONA
UCLA has an all-time record of 62-19 against Arizona State. The Bruins dropped a 4-2 decision to the Sun Devils April 8, 2023 at Whiteman Tennis Complex. The day's final two matches were in third sets when the result was clinched. UCLA earned the doubles point before Kimmi Hance added to the team's score in singles play. Sedona Gallagher clinched the overall win for ASU, backing up efforts by Marianna Argyrokastriti, Rachel Hanford and Domenika Turkovic. One day earlier, the Bruins improved their program's all-time record versus Arizona to 70-8. UCLA claimed four third sets en route to a 6-1 result at the Wildcats' LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. Ava Catanzarite clinched the overall victory. Hance, Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, Tian Fangran and Elise Wagle all logged two-win days for the Bruins. Kayla Wilkins prevailed in singles play for Arizona.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA's win against No. 8 USC (March 1) helped improve both team and individual showings in the ITA's March 5 rankings. The Bruins rose 17 spots on the team list, coming in at No. 19. The Bruins rose again in the latest installment, checking in at No. 18 Tuesday. The most recent singles rankings includes Tian Fangran (No. 62), Bianca Fernandez (career-high 65) and Kimmi Hance (91). Each player defeated a nationally-ranked Trojan in the non-conference victory. The doubles combination of Ahmani Guichard and Sasha Vagramov, meanwhile, debuted at No. 66. The pair knocked off No. 29 Parker Fry/Grace Piper 7-6(6) of USC to clinch the doubles point.
TIAN NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THIRD TIME THIS SEASON
Tian Fangran was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of March 4-10, the conference announced Tuesday. The award marked Tian's second in as many weeks and third this season. The Bruins opened Pac-12 play with a pair of dominant performances, beating Washington State 7-0 (March 8) and No. 25 Washington 4-0 (March 9). Tian defended her home turf with two top-court singles wins and a clinching doubles victory. One day after taking down Eva Alvarez Sande of the Cougars 6-1, 4-6, 1-0(5), Tian topped the Huskies' Erika Matsuka 6-4, 6-1 to put a second point on the board for UCLA. She also played a major part in obtaining the first point against Washington, teaming with Elise Wagle to defeat Matsua and Dariya Detkovskaya 6-4 on the second doubles court after decisions on the other two were split. The defending NCAA singles champion is now a four-time Pac-12 Player of the Week award winner for her career. UCLA has collected 43 of the honors in program history.
FALL RECAP
Bruins appeared at three tournaments during the fall. Freshman Ahmani Guichard made her debut on a national scale, logging two of her team-high six fall singles wins at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, N.C. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Elise Wagle each recorded three singles victories at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in San Diego. Guichard and Lutkemeyer teamed to collect two wins at ITA Regionals and added another during Thunderbird Invitational play in Tempe, Ariz. Guichard added two more singles wins in the desert.
2022-23 IN REVIEW
The 2022-23 UCLA women's tennis team advanced to the super-regional round of the NCAA Championships, upsetting host and No. 6-seed Duke to get there. The Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit and Sasha Vagramov provided the heroics with all eyes on her court. UCLA went 15-8 for the season. Kimmi Hance (doubles), Tian Fangran (singles) and Elise Wagle (doubles) each received All-America recognition. Hance and Wagle qualified for the NCAA doubles draw, while Tian claimed the second NCAA singles title in program history. Tian was also a finalist for the Honda Sport Award for Tennis and voted ITA Rookie of the Year and Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Hance and Wagle made up the Pac-12's Doubles Team of the Year. Tian earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, Hance made the Second Team and Wagle was an Honorable Mention pick.
T IS FOR TITLE
Freshman Tian Fangran completed a sparkling run through the 2023 NCAA Championships singles tournament at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., defeating Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma 6-4, 6-2 for the second NCAA singles title in program history. The No. 9-16-seeded Tian joined UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Keri Phebus as the only Bruins to lift the trophy at the season-ending event. En route to the title, Tian won six matches without dropping a single set. She completed her debut college season with a singles record of 30-7, including a 17-6 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. The NCAA singles championship represents the first in the career of head coach Stella Sampras Webster, who was on staff as an assistant coach under Bill Zaima when Phebus collected hers.
WHO'S NEW?
Freshmen Bianca Fernandez (Montreal, QC, Canada/International Virtual Learning Academy), Ahmani Guichard (Seminole, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and Mia Jovic (Torrance, Calif./South HS) joined the Bruins in 2023-24. Fernandez, a veteran of ITF events who earned her first WTA points at the age of 15, reached the doubles second round alongside her sister and partner Leylah Fernandez at the 2022 National Bank Open in Toronto. Guichard, regarded as a Blue Chip prospect by TennisRecruiting.net, reached the singles second round at the 2022 US Open Junior Championships and also earned berths into the 2023 Australian Open Junior Championships and 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships. Jovic helped her high school to four consecutive CIF Southern Section Championships appearances and captured the Pioneer League singles title in 2019.
BRUINS ON TOUR
Ena Shibahara earned her first Grand Slam championship in 2022, teaming with Wesley Koolhof to seize the mixed doubles title at Roland-Garros. She made her first major women's doubles final round alongside Shuko Aoyama at the 2023 Australian Open. Shibahara/Aoyama was the last pair standing at the 2023 National Bank Open in Toronto, giving each player her second WTA 1000 championship. Shibahara climbed to a career-best No. 4 position in the WTA's doubles rankings in March 2022 and entered 2024 at No. 14. Catherine Harrison also had a standout 2022, competing at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. She reached the singles second round at the All England Club and earned a main-draw win in doubles at each event. Harrison added the Australian Open to her résumé in 2023 and made a return trip earlier this year. She also collected her first WTA title in 2022, partnering with Sabrina Santamaria to prevail at the Monterrey Open in Mexico. Harrison posted career-high WTA rankings of 214 singles and 69 doubles in 2022. Robin Anderson also had a stellar 2022, making career-high appearances of 137 singles and 181 doubles. She made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2022 Australian Open. Jennifer Brady achieved the highest singles ranking of any former UCLA standout when she climbed to No. 13 in 2021. Elysia Bolton (167) and Jada Hart (296) earned the highest doubles rankings of their careers thus far in 2023.
STELLA'S STERLING RÉSUMÉ
Head coach Stella Sampras Webster is in her 28th season at the helm of the UCLA women's tennis program, compiling an impressive overall record of 510-189 (.730). She is the second-longest-tenured active coach at UCLA, behind men's tennis head coach Billy Martin. Sampras Webster collected the 500th win of her illustrious career when the Bruins defeated UC San Diego on April 18, 2023. She has guided her alma mater to NCAA championships in 2008 and 2014, the first two in program history. Sampras Webster's teams have finished top-10 nationally in 22 of her 26 completed seasons and in the top five 15 times. Four NCAA individual championships have been won under her watch: Tian Fangran in 2023, Gabby Andrews/Ayan Broomfield in 2019, Tracy Lin/Riza Zalameda in 2008 and Daniela Bercek/Lauren Fisher in 2004.
Date/Time: Friday, March 15/1:30 PM PT
ย ย ย ย Saturday, March 16/12:00 PM PT
Live Stream: https://ucla.in/3R2WTGN
Live Stats: https://ucla.in/3R2WTGN
Series vs. Arizona State: UCLA leads 62-19
Series vs. Arizona: UCLA leads 70-8
Last Meeting vs. ASU: ASU won 4-2 on April 8, 2023
Last Meeting vs. ARIZ: UCLA won 6-1 on April 7, 2023
THIS WEEK
No. 18 UCLA will conclude its seven-match homestand this week when No. 33 Arizona State and No. 42 Arizona visit Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Sun Devils (8-6, 0-2 Pac-12 drop in Friday at 1:30 p.m. PT, while the Wildcats (11-7, 0-2) are set for a 12 p.m. Saturday showdown. This week represents the second of conference action for each team. The Bruins (7-3, 2-0) swept Washington State and Washington in their league openers, while ASU and Arizona are each in search of its first league win after dropping decisions against California and Stanford.
FOLLOW LIVE
Fans unable to attend home UCLA women's tennis matches in person can still follow live. Point-by-point scores and live video will be available for all matches played at Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA swept Washington State (7-0 on March 8) and No. 25 Washington (4-0 on March 9) to open Pac-12 play at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Three players had two-win days for the Bruins versus the Cougars. Elise Wagle clinched the result. WSU collected a pair of singles sets, but both matches were ultimately won by UCLA in third-set, 10-point tiebreakers. Against the Huskies, Bianca Fernandez picked up her first career clinching singles win. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Tian Fangran were also triumphant for the Bruins. UW forced doubles play to go the distance and secured three singles sets in incomplete contests, but could not get on the scoreboard.
UCLA VS. ARIZONA STATE, ARIZONA
UCLA has an all-time record of 62-19 against Arizona State. The Bruins dropped a 4-2 decision to the Sun Devils April 8, 2023 at Whiteman Tennis Complex. The day's final two matches were in third sets when the result was clinched. UCLA earned the doubles point before Kimmi Hance added to the team's score in singles play. Sedona Gallagher clinched the overall win for ASU, backing up efforts by Marianna Argyrokastriti, Rachel Hanford and Domenika Turkovic. One day earlier, the Bruins improved their program's all-time record versus Arizona to 70-8. UCLA claimed four third sets en route to a 6-1 result at the Wildcats' LaNelle Robson Tennis Center. Ava Catanzarite clinched the overall victory. Hance, Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, Tian Fangran and Elise Wagle all logged two-win days for the Bruins. Kayla Wilkins prevailed in singles play for Arizona.
IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA's win against No. 8 USC (March 1) helped improve both team and individual showings in the ITA's March 5 rankings. The Bruins rose 17 spots on the team list, coming in at No. 19. The Bruins rose again in the latest installment, checking in at No. 18 Tuesday. The most recent singles rankings includes Tian Fangran (No. 62), Bianca Fernandez (career-high 65) and Kimmi Hance (91). Each player defeated a nationally-ranked Trojan in the non-conference victory. The doubles combination of Ahmani Guichard and Sasha Vagramov, meanwhile, debuted at No. 66. The pair knocked off No. 29 Parker Fry/Grace Piper 7-6(6) of USC to clinch the doubles point.
TIAN NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR THIRD TIME THIS SEASON
Tian Fangran was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of March 4-10, the conference announced Tuesday. The award marked Tian's second in as many weeks and third this season. The Bruins opened Pac-12 play with a pair of dominant performances, beating Washington State 7-0 (March 8) and No. 25 Washington 4-0 (March 9). Tian defended her home turf with two top-court singles wins and a clinching doubles victory. One day after taking down Eva Alvarez Sande of the Cougars 6-1, 4-6, 1-0(5), Tian topped the Huskies' Erika Matsuka 6-4, 6-1 to put a second point on the board for UCLA. She also played a major part in obtaining the first point against Washington, teaming with Elise Wagle to defeat Matsua and Dariya Detkovskaya 6-4 on the second doubles court after decisions on the other two were split. The defending NCAA singles champion is now a four-time Pac-12 Player of the Week award winner for her career. UCLA has collected 43 of the honors in program history.
FALL RECAP
Bruins appeared at three tournaments during the fall. Freshman Ahmani Guichard made her debut on a national scale, logging two of her team-high six fall singles wins at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, N.C. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Elise Wagle each recorded three singles victories at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships in San Diego. Guichard and Lutkemeyer teamed to collect two wins at ITA Regionals and added another during Thunderbird Invitational play in Tempe, Ariz. Guichard added two more singles wins in the desert.
2022-23 IN REVIEW
The 2022-23 UCLA women's tennis team advanced to the super-regional round of the NCAA Championships, upsetting host and No. 6-seed Duke to get there. The Bruins rallied from a 3-1 deficit and Sasha Vagramov provided the heroics with all eyes on her court. UCLA went 15-8 for the season. Kimmi Hance (doubles), Tian Fangran (singles) and Elise Wagle (doubles) each received All-America recognition. Hance and Wagle qualified for the NCAA doubles draw, while Tian claimed the second NCAA singles title in program history. Tian was also a finalist for the Honda Sport Award for Tennis and voted ITA Rookie of the Year and Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year. Hance and Wagle made up the Pac-12's Doubles Team of the Year. Tian earned a spot on the All-Conference First Team, Hance made the Second Team and Wagle was an Honorable Mention pick.
T IS FOR TITLE
Freshman Tian Fangran completed a sparkling run through the 2023 NCAA Championships singles tournament at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla., defeating Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma 6-4, 6-2 for the second NCAA singles title in program history. The No. 9-16-seeded Tian joined UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Keri Phebus as the only Bruins to lift the trophy at the season-ending event. En route to the title, Tian won six matches without dropping a single set. She completed her debut college season with a singles record of 30-7, including a 17-6 mark against nationally-ranked opponents. The NCAA singles championship represents the first in the career of head coach Stella Sampras Webster, who was on staff as an assistant coach under Bill Zaima when Phebus collected hers.
WHO'S NEW?
Freshmen Bianca Fernandez (Montreal, QC, Canada/International Virtual Learning Academy), Ahmani Guichard (Seminole, Fla./Florida Virtual School) and Mia Jovic (Torrance, Calif./South HS) joined the Bruins in 2023-24. Fernandez, a veteran of ITF events who earned her first WTA points at the age of 15, reached the doubles second round alongside her sister and partner Leylah Fernandez at the 2022 National Bank Open in Toronto. Guichard, regarded as a Blue Chip prospect by TennisRecruiting.net, reached the singles second round at the 2022 US Open Junior Championships and also earned berths into the 2023 Australian Open Junior Championships and 2022 Roland-Garros Junior Championships. Jovic helped her high school to four consecutive CIF Southern Section Championships appearances and captured the Pioneer League singles title in 2019.
BRUINS ON TOUR
Ena Shibahara earned her first Grand Slam championship in 2022, teaming with Wesley Koolhof to seize the mixed doubles title at Roland-Garros. She made her first major women's doubles final round alongside Shuko Aoyama at the 2023 Australian Open. Shibahara/Aoyama was the last pair standing at the 2023 National Bank Open in Toronto, giving each player her second WTA 1000 championship. Shibahara climbed to a career-best No. 4 position in the WTA's doubles rankings in March 2022 and entered 2024 at No. 14. Catherine Harrison also had a standout 2022, competing at Roland-Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. She reached the singles second round at the All England Club and earned a main-draw win in doubles at each event. Harrison added the Australian Open to her résumé in 2023 and made a return trip earlier this year. She also collected her first WTA title in 2022, partnering with Sabrina Santamaria to prevail at the Monterrey Open in Mexico. Harrison posted career-high WTA rankings of 214 singles and 69 doubles in 2022. Robin Anderson also had a stellar 2022, making career-high appearances of 137 singles and 181 doubles. She made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at the 2022 Australian Open. Jennifer Brady achieved the highest singles ranking of any former UCLA standout when she climbed to No. 13 in 2021. Elysia Bolton (167) and Jada Hart (296) earned the highest doubles rankings of their careers thus far in 2023.
STELLA'S STERLING RÉSUMÉ
Head coach Stella Sampras Webster is in her 28th season at the helm of the UCLA women's tennis program, compiling an impressive overall record of 510-189 (.730). She is the second-longest-tenured active coach at UCLA, behind men's tennis head coach Billy Martin. Sampras Webster collected the 500th win of her illustrious career when the Bruins defeated UC San Diego on April 18, 2023. She has guided her alma mater to NCAA championships in 2008 and 2014, the first two in program history. Sampras Webster's teams have finished top-10 nationally in 22 of her 26 completed seasons and in the top five 15 times. Four NCAA individual championships have been won under her watch: Tian Fangran in 2023, Gabby Andrews/Ayan Broomfield in 2019, Tracy Lin/Riza Zalameda in 2008 and Daniela Bercek/Lauren Fisher in 2004.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Tennis
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/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
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