UCLA
Utah
No. 14 UCLA Looks to Continue Pac-12 Success
April 05, 2018 | Women's Tennis
Out of action since March 25, the No. 14 UCLA women's tennis team is back this week with matches at Utah and Colorado. The Bruins will take on the Utes Friday in a match that begins at 12:30 p.m. Live streaming of the Friday match will be available HERE. UCLA will then take a travel day before facing off with the Buffaloes Sunday. Time on that match is dependent on weather.
UCLA VS. UTAH/COLORADO
The Bruins hold a 16-0 all-time mark versus Utah, last blanking the Utes April 8 at Sunset Canyon Tennis Courts. UCLA did not drop a set in its completed matches, as Alaina Miller clinched the 4-0 decision. One day earlier, the Bruins posted an identical 4-0 win over Colorado to run their all-time record to 7-0 against the Buffaloes. Jada Hart joined forces with Terri Fleming to clinch the doubles point before taking matters into her own hands in singles play. The Bruins did not surrender more than three games in any of the completed sets against Utah and Colorado last season.
LAST WEEK
UCLA did not play. The Bruins were last in action March 25, when they defeated No. 47 Washington, 4-0, at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The win completed a perfect week for the home team, which also dealt No. 39 Washington State a 4-0 loss one day earlier.
SHIBAHARA NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
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. The Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. native teamed with Alaina Miller in a winner-take-all Court 3 match earlier in the day to secure the doubles point from Bayerlova and Aneta Miksovska, 7-6 (0). A day later, Shibahara-Miller defeated the Washington tandem of Stacey Fung-Katarina Kopcalic, 6-0, to run its winning streak to eight matches. Shibahara's third career Player of the Week honor is the 21st all time for UCLA.
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 both singles and doubles action.
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.
NEWCOMER SUCCESS
Freshman Abi Altick has won eight of her last nine decisions in singles playโfailing to drop a set in those victories. She is 9-2 on the dual-match season and leads the Bruins with 23 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. 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.
UCLA IN THE RANKINGS
Five Bruins are ranked among Oracle/ITA's Top 125 singles players, announced April 3. Shibahara is tops among them, as the sophomore sits at No. 11. Hart is up to No. 33, while Altick is at No. 50. Miller is currently ranked 106th, while Fleming is at 113. The doubles list features four Bruin tandems. The team of Hart and Fleming checks in at No. 10 to lead the way. Hart-Shibahara comes in at No. 15, while Andrews-Hart is No. 30 and Andrews-Broomfield is No. 49. 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. 23). Oregon (No. 26), Washington State (34), Arizona State (39), USC (40), California (49) and Washington (50) 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 409-156 (.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.
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.
Players Mentioned
