LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 32 UCLA women's tennis team resumes Pac-12 play this weekend when it hosts No. 35 Oregon on Saturday. The conference tilt begins at noon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Last time out, UCLA (10-4, 2-1 Pac-12) downed No. 38 Fresno State, 5-2, at home. With the win, the Bruins avenged the 4-3 loss they suffered to the Bulldogs back in January at the 2016 ITA Kick-Off Weekend. After dropping the doubles point and a singles match on court 6, UCLA rattled off five straight wins to take the match. Kyle McPhillips put the first Bruin point on the board. After taking the first set 6-3, McPhillips had a commanding 5-1 lead over Fresno State's Sophie Watts in the second. The Bruin senior held at deuce to take the match in straights.
The deciding point came from the top of the lineup as No. 18 Catherine Harrison battled with No. 36 Mayar Sherif Ahmed on court 1. Ahmed slowly chipped away at Harrison's 5-3 lead in the second set. At deuce, Harrison broke Ahmed's serve to quell the Bulldogs' comeback attempt and clinch for the Bruins.
UCLA is led by the usual suspects. At the top of the lineup, Harrison and McPhillips each boast 11-2 dual match records at Nos. 1 and 2, respectively. Freshman Alaina Miller has posted a 7-2 record at No. 3, including a win over USC's Gabby Smith, ranked No. 85 at the time. In doubles, the seventh-ranked duo of Harrison and McPhillips is 11-1 this spring and 4-0 against ranked pairs, three of which were in the top 10.
Scouting the Ducks
No. 35 Oregon (11-3, 3-1 Pac-12) is coming off a loss to 25th-ranked Arizona State that snapped a nine-match winning streak. Freshman Shweta Sangwan leads the Ducks in singles wins this season with an 18-5 record, while No. 124 Alyssa Tobita has been a force in singles as well, opening the dual season with a 12-0 record. Kennan Johnson enters the ITA singles rankings yet again this week at No. 70. In doubles, Tobita and sophomore Nia Rose have teamed up to win six of their last seven competing predominately in the No. 2 spot.
The Ducks open the weekend with USC on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Marks Tennis Stadium before taking on the Bruins on Saturday at noon at the LA Tennis Center. Live scoring for Saturday's match is available here.