UCLA
Riviera/ITA Womenโs All-American Championships
Six Bruins Head to All-Americans
September 26, 2018 | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES โ Six members of the UCLA women's tennis team will travel a short distance to play with the nation's best, as the 2018 Riviera/ITA All-American Championships begin Saturday in Southern California. In its 34th year, the Pacific Palisades, Calif.-based event will help determine the field for November's Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Surprise, Ariz.
Jada Hart will headline the list of half dozen Bruins in the field. The redshirt sophomore has already claimed a spot in the singles main draw. Sophomore Abi Altick will play in the qualifying matches, while junior Alaina Miller and freshman Elysia Bolton are on the prequalifying list. Hart and Bolton, meanwhile, will team up in doubles qualifying, while the tandems of Altick-Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield-Miller will tackle prequalifying matches.
The Oracle ITA preseason rankings were used to carve out the field. Hart (No. 15), Altick (No. 52) and Miller (No. 86) were slotted in the singles rankings when they were released Sept. 11. Bolton-Hart (No. 29), Altick-Andrews (No. 44) and Broomfield-Miller (No. 47) all made the doubles Top-50 cut. Bolton is the third-ranked newcomer.
Prequalifying will take place over the weekend, with matches beginning Saturday, Sept. 29 and running through Sunday. Qualifying matches will pick up Tuesday, Oct. 2 and conclude one day later. The main draw contests will open Thursday, Oct. 4 and champions will be determined Sunday, Oct. 7. Prequalifying matches will be played at Pepperdine University, while the rest will be settled at Riviera Tennis Club.
Bolton debuted at Oracle ITA Masters Thursday, Sept. 20, as she defeated Northern Kentucky's Margita Sunjic, 6-7 (7), 6-4, 6-2 in first-round action. She returned one day later to beat No. 27 Sara Daavettila of North Carolina in straight sets, 7-6 (4), 6-2, before bowing out to eventual champion and nation's No. 3 Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami, 6-4, 6-0.
Over two thirds of UCLA's 151 singles wins (69%) in 2017-18 will take the courts at All-Americans. Altick led the Bruins as a freshman with a 30-11 record, including a 7-0 mark in conference play.
Players Mentioned
