University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Pepperdine
No. 14 UCLA Battles Pepperdine, USC to End Reg. Season
April 17, 2018 | Women's Tennis
The No. 14 UCLA women's tennis team (16-4, 8-1 Pac-12), which has won seven straight overall and eight consecutive in league action, plays its last two matches of the regular season this week, traveling to Malibu for a non-conference tilt against No. 10 Pepperdine on Wednesday, Apr. 18 before hosting rival No. 47 USC on Saturday, Apr. 21 at Los Angeles Tennis Center in a Pac-12 Network-televised contest. First serve for Wednesday is set for 1:30 p.m., while the Bruins and Women of Troy will square off starting at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. Live stats for both contests will be available on uclabruins.com. The postseason begins next week at the Pac-12 Tournament, which runs from Wednesday to Saturday, in Ojai, Calif.
UCLA VS. PEPPERDINE/USC
The Bruins own a 54-16 all-time mark against Pepperdine. UCLA won 22 of 23 contests against the Waves from 2002-15, but Pepperdine has begun to punch back, winning the last three matchups in the series including in the second round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament. UCLA is 52-50 all-time against the Women of Troy, including series splits in each of the past three seasons. The previously-scheduled UCLA-USC showdown on Mar. 2 was postponed due to rain. The Women of Troy haven't won a match at LATC since 2013.
LAST WEEK
UCLA added a pair of victories to its winning streak last week, sweeping No. 33 Arizona State and unranked Arizona on Friday and Saturday, respectively. Against the Sun Devils, the pairings of Jada Hart/Terri Fleming and Ena Shibahara/Alaina Miller delivered the doubles point before UCLA finished the sweep with wins on courts two, four, and five. Ayan Broomfield delivered UCLA's only two-set win: 6-2, 6-4. Hart, on court two, had the most dramatic match of the day, overcoming a 6-1 loss in set one and a 4-3 deficit in set three to claim the win. The Bruins dominated Arizona on Saturday, dropping only one game in completed doubles matches before finishing off the Wildcats with wins on one, two, and six. Hart gave UCLA the clinching point with a 6-3, 6-3 victory on court two.
BEST OF THE BEST
UCLA has stepped up its game against top opponents in recent weeks, winning 16 straight sets against ITA Top-50 teams. Overall, the Bruins have dropped just three sets over the last month, posting a combined sets record of 31-3 in that span.
AWARDS SEASON
UCLA is one of four schools to have its players awarded with two Pac-12 Player of the Week awards this season. Washington State, Arizona State and California are the others. Ena Shibahara was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of March 19-25, the conference announced March 27. Shibahara topped ranked opponent Michaela Bayerlova of Washington State, 6-3, 6-4, to clinch the Bruins' win over the previously-16-1 Cougars and cap an impressive Saturday for the sophomore. Earlier, Jada Hart was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Feb. 13. Hart had two singles victories for the Bruins at the ITA Team Indoor Championships and helped UCLA earn a big consolation win over No. 19 South Carolina following two narrow defeats. Bruins have accounted for 21 all-time weekly awards. Shibahara and Hart have each garnered three.
SAD TO SEE YOU GO
On Saturday, UCLA will bid adieu to a quintet of seniors who will be participating in their final regular season home matches: Terri Fleming, Kelly Shaffer, Kristin Wiley, and team managers Eliza Day and McKenzie Purcifull. Fleming is 16-10 this season and 65-39 in her career in singles and has been a powerhouse in doubles alongside partner Jada Hart in 2018. Wiley has compiled 38 career singles wins during her time at UCLA and has been named Academic All-Pac 12 on a pair of occasions. Shaffer has not seen the court this season, but was a member of the 2014 National Champion squad.
HART'S GOT HEART
Sophomore Jada Hart had one of the strongest outings of her career last weekend, leading to a Pac-12 Player of the Week nomination. Hart was the lone Bruin to finish and win both of her singles decisions last week, and both were pivotal for UCLA as she adjusted after a first-set loss on Friday to clinch a three-set win before topping opponent Mary Lewis of Arizona on Saturday to clinch the overall win for UCLA. In doubles, she and partner Terri Fleming dropped just one game combined in their two wins. With the dominant doubles performance, Hart-Fleming saw their ranking climb to a season-high No. 7.
MILLER'S MAD MARCH
The month of March belonged to Miller. The junior won all six of her singles matches and teamed with Shibahara to do the same on the doubles courts. The pair also clinched two doubles points. Miller won 72 of 86 singles games and posted four 6-0 sets over the course of the month. Dating back to Feb. 23, the Saratoga, Calif. native is 8-0 in singles play and 10-0 in doubles action.
NEWCOMER SUCCESS
Freshman Abi Altick has won 10 of her last 11 decisions in singles play, dating back to Feb. 9. She is 12-2 on the dual-match season and leads the Bruins with 26 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 Fleming and Shibahara. Her clinching win on Apr. 6 at Utah marked the first of her career. 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). Altick and Broomfield have teamed to clinch three doubles points, while Broomfield has done so with Gabby Andrews twice.
INDIVIDUALS VS. USC/PEPPERDINE
Shibahara has the best all-time record against USC among current Bruins, going 2-0 in both singles and doubles play. She is followed by Jada Hart (2-0 in singles, 1-1 in doubles), Alaina Miller (2-2, 2-2), Gabby Andrews (1-1, 1-0), Kristin Wiley (1-3, 1-3), and Terri Fleming (1-4, 1-4). Against Pepperdine, the records go as follows: Shibahara (0-2 in singles, 2-0 in doubles), Fleming (1-3, 0-4), Hart (1-0, 1-1), Miller (1-1, 1-2), Andrews (0-2, 1-1), and Wiley (0-3, 1-2).
SHIBAHARA EXCELS ON ONE
Ena Shibahara, the preseason top-ranked singles player in the country, has hit her stride on court one, losing just once in her last six matches. UCLA is 7-1 during the dual-match season when Shibahara wins her matchup.
UCLA IN THE RANKINGS
Four Bruins are ranked among Oracle/ITA's Top 125 singles players, announced April 17. Shibahara is tops among them, as the sophomore sits at No. 15. Hart is 35th, Altick is at No. 55, and Miller is currently ranked 98th. The doubles list features four Bruin tandems. The team of Hart and Fleming checks in at No. 7 to lead the way. Hart-Shibahara comes in at No. 19, while Andrews-Hart is No. 34 and Andrews-Broomfield is No. 52. UCLA is ranked No. 14 in the latest Oracle/ITA team list. The Bruins are tops among Pac-12 schools, and one of two in the Top 25 (Stanford โ No. 20). Oregon (No. 29), Arizona State (32), Washington State (40), California (44), and USC (47) 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 413-156 (.726). 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.
OVER 100 GATHER FOR REUNION
More than 100 current and former UCLA women's tennis players and coaches convened March 16-18 to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the program's first NCAA Championship and the life of legendary coach Bill Zaima. Included among that group were members of some of Zaima's first teams from nearly five decades ago. The group was able to see new and updated on-campus facilities, take part in a gala banquet and celebration at the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and watch the current Bruins defeat Oregon, among other activities.
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. Bruins also swept the singles (Shibahara) and doubles (Hart-Shibahara) titles at the Freeman Memorial Championships in Las Vegas.
Players Mentioned
