University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
No. 27 UCLA Hosts Washington Schools
March 02, 2016 | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The No. 27 UCLA women's tennis team returns to action this week when it hosts the Washington schools to kick off conference play. The Bruins face No. 47 Washington State at 1:30 p.m. on Friday before squaring off with No. 41 Washington at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
UCLA (7-3) is fresh off back-to-back wins at home. First, the Bruins downed USC in last week's crosstown clash. Erasing a 2-0 deficit, UCLA rallied with five straight singles wins to take the match, 5-2. The fifth-ranked duo of Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips registered the Bruins' only win in doubles play when they dispatched eighth-ranked Giuliana Olmos and Gabby Smith, 6-2, on court 1. In singles, No. 19 Harrison put UCLA's first point on the board when she defeated No. 21 Olmos in straights. On courts 2, 3, and 4, unranked McPhillips, Alaina Miller, and Kristin Wiley each downed their ranked opponents. Terri Fleming clinched the match for the Bruins on court 5 in a tight three setter.
UCLA went on to face No. 45 Baylor two days later. Making quick work of the Bears, the Bruins captured the doubles point and recorded three wins in singles to clinch, 4-1. Harrison registered the deciding point on court 1, edging Rhiann Newborn in the second-set tiebreaker.
Scouting the Cougars
Last time out, Washington State (13-1) posted a 5-1 victory over Saint Mary's. The Cougars are led by No. 119 Donika Bashota and Maria Biryukova in singles. Bashota has a perfect 14-0 record in dual match play, with 12 of those wins at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. Biryukova is 11-2 this spring, with a 9-2 mark at singles No. 1. The Cougars do not currently have any doubles teams ranked nationally.
Scouting the Huskies
Washington (9-4) has dropped three straight road matches and faces USC on Friday before heading over to Westwood on Saturday. Last time out, the Huskies dropped a 4-2 road match to then No. 10 Texas Tech. Washington is led by freshman Stacey Fung, who holds an 18-5 overall singles record this season and is back in the ITA rankings at No. 99. The Dawgs have one doubles pair ranked nationally—No. 34 Tami Grende and Miki Kobayashi. They currently hold a 7-2 record on the year overall, and defeated the No. 3 duo in the country against California on January 24th.
Live stats for both matches can be accessed by clicking here. For the latest information on the UCLA women's tennis team, please visit the team's Twitter account @uclawtennis.
