UCLA
Pepperdine
No. 14 Bruins Come Back to Defeat No. 10 Pepperdine
April 18, 2018 | Women's Tennis
MALIBU, Calif. โ The No. 14 UCLA women's tennis team pulled off an epic comeback in Wednesday's contest at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Complex, winning deciding third sets on courts one, two, and six to reverse a 3-1 deficit and claim a 4-3 team victory over No. 10 Pepperdine.
The decision represented the eighth consecutive victory for the Bruins, who improved to 17-4 overall. Pepperdine (18-2) lost for just the second time overall this year (last: Feb. 12 vs. North Carolina)ย and for the first time at home. The result also snapped a three-match winning streak for the Waves against UCLA.ย
Sophomore Ena Shibahara (court one), sophomore Jada Hart (two), and junior Alaina Miller (six) provided the decisive singles victories for UCLA, all of which came after the Bruins fell behind 3-1 following individual losses on courts three, four, and five.
Miller, ranked No. 98 in singles play, started the comeback for UCLA, winning her final two sets in identical 6-3 fashion after dropping set one 6-4.
Miller comes back! Laini defeats Milovanovic 6-3 in the third to bring the Bruins within one, now trailing the Waves, 3-2 pic.twitter.com/wrTgH2sR7T
โ UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) April 18, 2018
Hart, on court two, had her work cut out for her facing Pepperdine's top-ranked singles player โ No. 16 Ashley Lahey โ but she proved she was up to the task with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 result. Coupled with her doubles win earlier in the day alongside partner Terri Fleming, Hart has now captured singles and doubles victories in three straight matchups.
That left it up to Shibahara, the only Bruin to win her first singles set on Wednesday, to finish off the comeback. The Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. native, had a chance to wrap up her decision in straight sets after winning the first frame 6-2, but Pepperdine's 25th-ranked Luisa Stefani outlasted her in a second-set tiebreaker, taking that 8-6.
Undeterred, Shibahara bounced back with a 6-3 win in the third to clinch the decision for UCLA, finishing off the match with an impressive running drop shot out of the reach of Stefani.
Ena Shibahara finishes off the victory on court one and UCLA comes back for the 4-3 win at No. 10 Pepperdine! pic.twitter.com/E9OuaoREOW
โ UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) April 19, 2018
Not unlike singles play, the doubles portion of the afternoon provided plenty of come-from-behind drama, and once again, things bounced UCLA's way.
The Waves opened up doubles with a 6-4 result on court number two.
However, in a matchup of top-10-ranked doubles teams, UCLA's No. 7 Jada Hart/Terri Fleming duo emerged victorious with a 6-4 decision over the No. 8 duo of Stefani-Sherif to knot the score up at one set apiece.
A beautiful return from Jada Hart seals a 6-4 win for Hart/Fleming on court one! The doubles point will come down to a tiebreaker on court three pic.twitter.com/rjdfpxNt3W
โ UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) April 18, 2018
On court three, UCLA's Miller/Shibahara duo and Pepperdine's Lahey/Lekaj went blow for blow for the duration of the match, setting up a tiebreaker to decide the doubles point.
It was all Bruins in the tiebreaker, with UCLA racing out to a 5-1 lead. Moments later, a strong serve from Shibahara resulted in a wide return by Pepperdine, handing the Bruins a 7-3 tiebreaking and doubles-deciding win.
Pepperdine's return of Shibahara's serve is wide, Shibahara/Miller outlast the Waves 7-6 (3) on court three to take the doubles point in Malibu. pic.twitter.com/1JvTQN96Cu
โ UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) April 18, 2018
UCLA will look to sustain its momentum this weekend as it hosts crosstown rival USC in a Pac-12 Network-televised showdown at Los Angeles Tennis Center on Saturday starting at 1:00 p.m.
No. 14 UCLA def. No. 10 Pepperdine 4-3
Doubles
No. 7 Hart/Fleming (UCLA) def. No. 8 Stefani/Sherif (Pepp)ย 6-4
No. 90 Levashova/Milovanovicย (Pepp) 3-4 def. No. 52 Broomfield/Andrews (UCLA) 6-3
Shibahara/Miller def. Lahey/Lekajย (Pepp)ย 7-6 (3)
Singles
No. 15 Shibaharaย (UCLA) def. No. 25 Stefani (Pepp) 6-2, 6-7 (6), 6-3
No. 35 Hart (UCLA) def. No. 16 Laheyย (Pepp) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
No. 19 Sherif (Pepp) def. Fleming (UCLA) 6-2, 6-4
No. 67 Levashovaย (Pepp) def. No. 55 Altick (UCLA) 6-4, 6-2
No. 88 Gulbe (Pepp) def. Broomfield (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3
No. 98 Miller (UCLA) def. Milovanovic (Pepp) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,1,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
3,4,5,6,2,1
Players Mentioned
