University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Shibahara's Season Ends in Round of 16
May 26, 2017 | Women's Tennis
ATHENS, Ga. -- An impressive freshman season came to an end Friday, as UCLA's Ena Shibahara fell to Vanderbilt's Sydney Campbell, 6-2, 6-4, in the 2017 NCAA Division I Singles Championship Round of 16. Shibahara completed her debut campaign with a 40-7 record in singles play.
Campbell took four of the first five games in the initial set to open an early gap on the Dan Magill Tennis Complex's Feild Courts. Shibahara could never recover and surrendered the opening frame to the Commodore senior, 6-2. It marked the first lost set by Shibahara in the tournament.
The fifth-ranked and fourth-seeded Bruin eventually gained her footing in the second set after again ceding a multi-game lead at 3-1. Shibahara broke Campbell to tie at four apiece, but the veteran moxie of Campbell took hold, as she broke back to retake a lead that she would never again surrender. The straight-set win advanced Campbell to the Quarterfinals and a date with either Blair Shankle of Baylor or Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine.
In addition to her overall .851 winning percentage, Shibahara went 18-3 in dual-match playโexclusively on Court 1. She also registered a 25-6 doubles mark (18-2 in dual matches). Awards continue coming for for the freshman, who became the first player in conference history to earn both the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and Newcomer/Freshman of the Year honors in the same season. The Palos Verdes, Calif. native's conference honors also included an All-Pac-12 First Team selection. Shibahara was most recently honored as the ITA National Rookie of the Year after receiving the regional award a week earlier.
Players Mentioned
