WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – Sophomore Ena Shibahara pulled off a straight-sets victory in the Round of 32 on Thursday to highlight UCLA's second day at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.
Shibahara breezed past No. 31 Marianna Petrei of Idaho, defeating her 6-2, 6-4. Coupled with her straight-sets victory over Vanderbilt's Christina Rosca in the opening round, Shibahara has now won all four of her sets in NCAA Singles play and 73% of her games (24-33).
Shibahara wins the final five games to defeat Petrei (Idaho) 6-2, 6-4
— UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) May 24, 2018
With the victory, Ena advances to the NCAA singles sweet 16! pic.twitter.com/JbnjodUbC0
With the victory, No. 7-seeded Shibahara advances to the Round of 16. There, she will face Pepperdine's Ashley Lahey, with first serve scheduled for 9:00 a.m. PT. This is the second consecutive Round of 16 appearance for Shibahara, the two-time reigning Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year.
The Bruins did suffer a pair of defeats in Thursday's action.
No. 33-ranked singles player Jada Hart fell to No. 27 Luisa Stefani in the Round of 32, 6-3, 7-5. Hart had defeated North Carolina's Alle Sanford in the opening round to advance to the Round of 32.
Then in doubles play, Hart and partner Terri Fleming dropped a 6-2, 3-6, (10-7) match to Syracuse's eighth-ranked pairing of Gabriela Knutson and Miranda Ramirez. Fleming/Hart, the No. 7-ranked doubles pairing in the country, battled back after losing the first set to force a winner-take-all 10-point tiebreaker, but ultimately fell 10-7.
The loss marked the final competition at UCLA for Fleming, a graduating senior. The Atlanta, Ga. native compiled 124 wins across her four-year singles and doubles career at UCLA.