In its final match before beginning Pac-12 play, the No. 9 UCLA women's tennis team travels across town to take on No. 32 USC in a nonconference match Friday. Play from Marks Tennis Stadium starts at 1:30 p.m. The Women of Troy (7-2) have run off five straight victories, while the Bruins (8-2) are winners of four straight since returning from the ITA Team Indoor Championships. Each team will head for the Bay Area next week to ring in the conference season.
UCLA vs. USC
The Bruins and Women of Troy are nearly dead even in the all-time series, with UCLA holding a 52-50 advantage. Last season, each team won on the other's home court. In a rain-delayed road match at Marks, Jada Hart clinched the overall win at 4-1, before USC posted a pair of wins for a 4-3 final score (Feb. 18, 2017). Then, in the regular-season finale for both teams, USC's Gabby Smith registered a deciding Court 2 win to secure a 4-3 win for the Women of Troy (April 22, 2017).
Last Week
UCLA went 2-0, picking up wins against a pair of in-state foes. The Bruins got started by making quick work of visiting Fresno State Friday at Los Angeles Tennis Center, blanking the Bulldogs by a 4-0 score. Alaina Miller did the honor of clinching the win, as the finishing Bruins on Courts 3, 4 and 5 picked up straight-set wins. Then, in a Saturday nonconference tilt, the Bruins passed their first test against a Pac-12 opponent, dispatching No. 34 California by a 5-2 score at LATC. Hart provided the clinching decision for the Bruins, who recorded the first five points of the afternoon before Cal took the final two.
Reunion Set for March 16-18
The UCLA women's tennis program will bring past and present together March 16-18, 2018, for a special alumni weekend celebration honoring the 10th anniversary of the first NCAA Championship in program history and the life of legendary coach Bill Zaima. The three-day reunion event will culminate with the current Bruins' Sunday dual match versus Oregon at Los Angeles Tennis Center (LATC). All UCLA women's tennis alumnae, along with Bruin Aces supporters, are invited to participate in the festivities, which feature tours of campus and its facilities, an alumnae-current team mixer and a banquet beside NCAA Championship trophy No. 102 in the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame. To RSVP, email uclatennisreunion@cmpr.net.
Newcomer Success
Freshman Abi Altick has won five straight singles decisions, failing to drop a set along the way. She is 6-1 on the dual-match season and leads the Bruins with 20 total wins after a successful fall. The Monroe, La. native has a 4-3 record versus Top-100 players, with two losses coming to teammates Terri Fleming and Ena Shibahara. Ayan Broomfield, who joined the Bruins as a transfer from Clemson in August, has clinched three Bruin victories this season. The junior topped then-No. 61 Claudia Wiktorin of North Carolina State, 6-3, 6-3, to secure UCLA's first ITA Kick-Off Weekend decision (Jan. 26). She also notched deciding wins against Kareena Manji of Saint Mary's, 6-1, 6-4 (Feb. 2), and Siobhan Anderson of LMU (Feb. 16). She has also teamed with Gabby Andrews to secure a pair of doubles points.
UCLA in the Rankings
Thanks to their early-season dual-match success, five Bruins are ranked among Oracle/ITA's Top 100 singles players, announced Feb. 20. Shibahara is tops among them, as the sophomore sits at No. 11. Freshman Abi Altick, meanwhile, is at No. 40. Hart is slotted at No. 59, while Fleming is at No. 73. Alaina Miller rounds out the list of UCLA singles players in the rankings at No. 99. The doubles list features four Bruin tandems. The team of Hart and Shibahara checks in at No. 5 to lead the way. Andrews-Broomfield comes in at No. 24, while Andrews-Hart is No. 30 and Fleming-Hart is No. 38. Off to an 8-2 start, UCLA is ranked No. 9 in the latest Oracle/ITA team ranking, released Feb 27. It is the Bruins' second straight week in that spot. UCLA is the highest-ranked Pac-12 school, and one of two in the Top 25 (Oregon – No. 22). USC (32), Arizona State (33), Stanford (40), California (44) and Washington (45) are in the Top 50.
Sampras Webster Wins No. 400
The Bruins' two ITA Kick-Off wins in Kentucky represented a milestone for long-time UCLA head coach Stella Sampras Webster. Already the winningest coach in program history, the victories represented Nos. 399 and 400 for Sampras Webster, who now holds a record of 403-154 (.724). She has led the Bruins to two NCAA Championships in her 21 completed seasons. Her teams have also tallied four runner-up finishes. Prior to becoming head coach, Sampras Webster played four seasons at UCLA under predecessor Bill Zaima. Those teams recorded four straight NCAA top-three finishes, while she was named an All-American each of those seasons. Sampras Webster was inducted into the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame in October.
Hart Named Pac-12 Player of the Week
For her efforts during ITA Indoors, Jada Hart was named Pac-12 Player of the Week, the conference announced Feb. 13. Hart had two singles victories for the Bruins at Indoors and helped UCLA to its big consolation win over then-No. 19 South Carolina following two narrow defeats. Not only did Hart join Terri Fleming in clinching the doubles point against the Gamecocks, but the redshirt sophomore knocked off then-No. 38 Hadley Berg, 6-4, 6-0, to put the Bruins within one win of victory. Against Ole Miss, Hart topped Natalie Suk, 6-2, 6-2, in singles play, and she and Fleming upset then-No. 11 Alexa Bortles and Arianne Hartono in doubles, 6-3, to clinch another doubles point. The honor marked the third of Hart's career and the 20th all-time nod for UCLA.
Fall Ball
Shibahara got the fall schedule started with a run to the final round of Oracle ITA Masters in September, where she finished as the runner-up in a talented field. At the Cal Fall Invitational later that month, Fleming defeated Altick for the ITA Blue singles championship, while Andrews and Wiley picked up the ITA Gold consolation title. Hart-Shibahara, meanwhile, was awarded the doubles consolation championship at the Riviera/ITA All-American Championships and Andrews-Hart won the doubles title at the ITA Regional Championships. In November, Altick made a run to the final round of the Jack Kramer Collegiate Tournament, where she fell in three sets. The Bruins recently swept the singles (Shibahara) and doubles (Hart-Shibahara) titles at the Freeman Memorial Championships in Las Vegas.