LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The 22nd-ranked UCLA women's tennis team fell to No. 15 Pepperdine, 6-1, on Thursday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.  Despite the loss, the Bruins registered a big win in doubles as Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips downed the No. 3 pair in the nation.    

In doubles play, Harrison and McPhillips took down third-ranked Matea Cutura and Christine Maddox, 6-2, on court 1 shortly after Terri Fleming and Kelly Shaffer fell to the 21st-ranked pair of Stefani and Runglerdkriangkrai on court 2.  A battle for the doubles point ensued on court 3.  Kristin Wiley and Alaina Miller took the match down to the wire, but were unable to overcome 57th-ranked Gulbe and Milovanovic.  The Waves took an early 1-0 lead.

In singles, Pepperdine quickly extended the lead with wins on courts 6, 3, and 5, to take the match 4-0.  Cutura added another point for the Waves on court 4 as she defeated Wiley in straights.  McPhillips finally put the Bruins on the board when she took down Gulbe on court 2 in a third set tiebreaker.  Last to finish, Harrison went head to head with sixth-ranked Stefani on court 1.  Harrison and Stefani traded sets to force a third.  Despite a back-and-forth battle, Harrison fell in the tiebreaker, 10-8.

Next up, the Bruins host a doubleheader with the men's team on Saturday, Feb. 20.  The men square off with UC Irvine at 10 a.m. PT, followed by the women's match against California at 1 p.m. PT.  

#15 Pepperdine 6, #22 UCLA 1
Feb 18, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)

Doubles competition

1. McPhillips/Harrison (UCLA) def. #3 CUTURA/MADDOX (PEP) 6-2

2. #21 STEFANI/RUNGLERDKRIANGKRAI (PEP) def. Fleming/Shaffer (UCLA) 6-1

3. #57 GULBE/MILOVANOVIC (PEP) def. Wiley/Miller (UCLA) 7-6 (7-4)

Singles competition

1. #6 STEFANI, Luisa (PEP) def. #18 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) 4-6, 7-6, 1-0 (10-8)

2. Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. GULBE, ,Laura (PEP) 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-6)

3. #67 MILOVANOVIC, Dzina (PEP) def. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-2, 6-2

4. CUTURA, Matea (PEP) def. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) 7-5, 6-1

5. RUNGLERDKRIANGKRAI,A (PEP) def. Terri Fleming (UCLA) 7-5, 6-0

6. CAPANNOLO, Michaela (PEP) def. Laura Luca (UCLA) 6-3, 6-1

Match Notes

Pepperdine 5-1; National ranking #15

UCLA 5-2; National ranking #22

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,3,5,4,2,1)