University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Oracle ITA Masters
Shibahara Adds ITA Masters Mixed Doubles Title
September 25, 2017 | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. -- The Oracle ITA Masters once again proved to be a home away from home for UCLA sophomore Ena Shibahara, who made the final round of both the singles and mixed doubles event. The Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. native, who won the singles title in 2016, won the mixed doubles championship Saturday with USC's Brandon Holt.
Shibahara and Holt pounced on No. 32 Jennifer Lu (Quinnipiac) and Javier Restrepo (Marist) in the first round, dispatching the pair by a 6-1 score. The Thursday match proved tougher, but the Los Angeles duo still coasted into the quarterfinals with a 6-4 victory over No. 16 Viktoriya Dzyuba (Lipscomb) and Thibault Cancel (Alabama). There, Shibahara-Holt was pushed nearly to the brink, as the pair held off No. 8 Lily Miyazaki (Oklahoma) and Harrison Scott (Texas), 7-5. Another challenge awaited in the semifinals, but the team of No. 13 Kaitlyn McCarthy (Duke) and Tanner Smith (USC) was sent away by an 8-5 score.
The reigning Pac-12 Newcomers of the Year faced a stiff challenge in the championship match, as collegiate tennis veterans Samantha Harris (Duke) and Johannes Schretter (Baylor) posed the final challenge as the No. 3 seed. The team proved no match for Shibahara-Holt, however, as the sophomores coasted to an 8-1 win.
One year removed from the singles title in Malibu, Shibahara entered the 2017 tournament as the No. 1 seed. She began her title defense with a resounding Round of 32 victory, 6-1, 6-1 over Lu. Shibahara then turned her attention to the Round of 16 and Pepperdine's Laura Gulbe. The hometown representative fought to a narrow first-set defeat, but Shibahara cruised in the second to take a 6-4, 6-2 win. The quarterfinals presented Shibahara with her first three-set contest, as North Carolina's No. 8-seeded Sara Daavettila did not go quietly after dropping the first, 2-6. The Tar Heel sophomore took the second set by a 6-4 margin, but Shibahara ultimately returned the favor to move on to the semifinals, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4. Two tiebreaks would accompany that match, as Shibahara and Miyazaki squared off in a nailbiter. After trading razor-thin wins in the first two sets, Shibahara proved too powerful, defeating the Oklahoma senior by a 7-6 (6), 6-7 (7), 6-2 win.
The final proved just as suspenseful, as North Carolina freshman Alle Sanford looked to replicate Shibahara's ITA Masters-winning performance as a freshman. Shibahara took the first set by a 7-5 score, to which Sanford answered with a 6-3 equalizer. The deciding third set was a point-for-point affair, which ultimately ended with Sanford edging Shibahara for the championship, 7-6 (11).
Players Mentioned
