UCLA
Pepperdine (Second Round)
Bruins' Season Comes to Close at Pepperdine
May 13, 2017 | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. โ The No. 23 UCLA women's tennis team saw its season come to a close Saturday, as it fell to No. 12 Pepperdine at the Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center, 4-1. The Waves advance to next week's Round of 16 in Athens, Ga., while Bruins Ena Shibahara and Jada Hart will head to the singles and doubles competitions at NCAAs. UCLA completes the dual-match season with a 14-9 record.
The Bruins appeared poised for an upset early, as they claimed the doubles point with wins on Courts 2 and 3. No. 58 duo Gabby Andrews and Alaina Miller knocked off No. 53 Luisa Stefani and Apichaya Runglerdkriangkrai, 6-3, before No. 8 Christine Maddox-Mayar Sherif answered with a 6-3 win over No. 32 Hart and Terri Fleming in a battle of top-ranked teams. That left it up to Court 3, where Shibahara and Kristin Wiley completed an impressive run through the close of the season with a 6-4 win over Dzina Milovanovic and Ashley Lahey. Shibahara-Wiley improved to 11-1 on the season.
Pepperdine picked up four of six first sets in singles play to slowly gain momentum. No. 14 Stefani's 7-5 tiebreak over No. 5 Shibahara was key to the Waves' advantage. First to finish was Court 6, where Milovanovic dispatched Wiley in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2. Shibahara was unable to respond after dropping the first-set tiebreak, as she dropped her first singles match since February (also to Stefani), 7-6 (5), 6-2. No. 19 Ashley Lahey and Terri Fleming went to a third set after Fleming picked up a second-set win, but the highly-ranked Wave proved victorious, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. To close it out, Runglerdkriangkrai recovered after losing the first set to defeat Andrews on Court 5, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2, and take the overall win for Pepperdine.
Shibahara, as well as the doubles team of Hart-Shibahara, earned the Pac-12's automatic berths into the NCAA Division I singles and doubles championships. Both competitions will take place May 24-29 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Pepperdine
May 13, 2017 at Malibu, CA
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)
ย
#12 Pepperdine 4, #23 UCLA 1
ย
Doubles competition
1. #8 Maddox/Sherif (PEPP) def. #32 Hart/Fleming (UCLA) 6-3
2. #58 Andrews/Miller (UCLA) def.ย No. 53 Stefani/Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) 6-3
3. Shibahara/Wiley (UCLA) def. Milovanovic/Lahey (PEPP) 6-4
ย
Singles competition
1. #14 Luisa Stefani (PEPP) def. #5 Ena Shibahara (UCLA) 7-6 (5), 6-2
2. #19 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. Terri Fleming (UCLA) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
3. #37 Mayar Sherif (PEPP) vs. Jada Hart (UCLA) 7-5, 3-4, unfinished
4. #97 Laura Gulbe (PEPP) vs. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 3-6, 6-4, 3-0, unfinshed
5. Runglerdkriangkrai (PEPP) def. Andrews (UCLA) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) 6-2, 6-2
ย
Match Notes:
UCLA 14-9; National ranking #23
Pepperdine 23-4; National ranking #12
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,2,5)
Players Mentioned
