UCLA
Oracle ITA National Fall Championships
Bolton, Hart Win ITA Fall Nats Doubles Title
November 10, 2019 | Women's Tennis
NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. โ The fifth-seeded tandem of sophomore Elysia Bolton and redshirt senior Jada Hart claimed doubles supremacy at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships Sunday, giving UCLA women's tennis its first title in the three-year history of the event.
The pair won five matches in five days at the Newport Beach Tennis Club, capped by an upset of top-seeded Anna Rogers and Alana Smith of North Carolina State in the final. Bolton and Hart did not drop a single set over the course of the tournament. UCLA matched North Carolina for the most participants in the event, which featured singles and doubles draws with six. Joining Bolton and Hart were junior Abi Altick, freshman Abbey Forbes, junior Annette Goulak and sophomore Taylor Johnson.
Bolton and Hart got started by knocking off the Auburn team of Selin Ovinc and Taylor Russo, 6-2, 6-3, in the first round. Next up was Oklahoma State's Ayumi Miyamoto and Lisa Marie Rioux, who fared only marginally better in a 6-4, 6-3 loss.
The quarterfinal round pitted Bolton and Hart against their first nationally-ranked opponent of the tournament, but that did not slow their run, as they blanked No. 11 Lauren Alter and Tatum Rice of Arkansas in the first set en route to a 6-0, 6-4 victory. The Bruins would go on to take downย Yulia Starodubtseva and Alesya Yakubovich of Old Dominion, 6-2, 6-3, in the semifinals.
That set up a top-five showdown in the championship match and, despite a slow start, the Bolton/Hart proved to be an unstoppable force on their way to the title. Rogers/Smith broke the Bruins for a 2-0 advantage in the first set, but Bolton/Hart rebounded in a major way. After coming back to take the first set, they controlled the second for a 6-4, 6-3 win.
Singles play featured three Bruins, who occupied the top three seeds in the draw. Top-seeded and 16th-ranked Bolton beat Georgia's Lea Ma and 31st-ranked Paola Diaz-Delgado in straight sets before falling to No. 5 Kelly Chen of Duke. Second-seeded Forbes did not drop a singles game against 39th-ranked Livia Kraus of Baylor and went on to nearly do the same against a Pac-12 opponent in Valentina Ivanov of California, 6-0, 6-2. Forbes' best win of the tournament proved to be against 12th-ranked Cameron Morra of North Carolina, who was dealt a 6-3, 6-1 loss, but her journey would end in the quarterfinal round against defending NCAA singles champion and second-ranked Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami (Fla.). Hart, meanwhile, turned in convincing wins against Martina Capurro of Oklahoma and Justine Leong of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps before falling to No. 49 Mia Horvit of South Carolina in three sets.
Forbes and Goulak made quick work of Ahmeir Kyle and Emily Thomas of Xavier before being dropped by 31st-ranked Marie Mattel and Rebeka Stolmar of UCF in the round of 16. No. 37 Altick and Johnson lost a heartbreaker to No. 23 MC Meredith and Eliza Omirou, 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (12).
Oracle ITA National Fall Championships
11/6-11/10/2019 at Newport Beach, Calif. (Newport Beach Tennis Club)
| Singles competition | |
| 64 | ย ย #16 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. Lea Ma (Georgia) 6-2, 6-2 |
| 64 | ย ย #9 Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Martina Capurro (Oklahoma) 6-1, 6-1 |
| 64 | ย ย Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. #39 Livia Kraus (Baylor) 6-0, 6-0 |
| 32 | ย ย #16 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) def. #31 P. Diaz-Delgado (VCU) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 32 | ย ย #9 Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Justine Leong (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 32 | ย ย Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. Valentina Ivanov (California) 6-0, 6-2 |
| 16 | ย ย #5 Kelly Chen (Duke) def. #16 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4 |
| 16 | ย ย #49 Mia Horvit (South Carolina) def. #9 Jada Hart (UCLA) 3-6, 6-0, 6-4 |
| 16 | ย ย Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. #12 Cameron Morra (North Carolina) 6-3, 6-1 |
| QF | ย ย #2 E. Perez-Somarriba (Miami) def. Abbey Forbes (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3 |
| Doubles competition | |
| Main Draw | |
| 32 | ย ย Abbey Forbes/Annette Goulak (UCLA) def. Ahmeir Kyle/Emily Thomas (Xavier) 6-0, 6-1 |
| 32 | ย ย #23 MC Meredith/Eliza Omirou (Wake Forest) def. #37 Abi Altick/Taylor Johnson (UCLA) 5-7, 6-4, 1-0 (14-12) |
| 32 | ย ย #4 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Selin Ovunc/Taylor Russo (Auburn) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 16 | ย ย #31 Marie Mattel/Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) def. Abbey Forbes/Annette Goulak (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2 |
| 16 | ย ย #4 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Ayumi Miyamoto/Lisa Marie Rioux (Oklahoma State) 6-4, 6-3 |
| QF | ย ย #4 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #11 Lauren Alter/Tatum Rice (Arkansas) 6-0, 6-4 |
| SF | ย ย #4 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Yulia Starodubtseva/Alesya Yakubovich (Old Dominion) 6-2, 6-3 |
| F | ย ย #4 Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #1 Anna Rogers/Alana Smith (NC State) 6-4, 6-3 |
| Consolation | |
| 16 | ย ย Lailaa Bashir/A. Charles-Alfred (Xavier University of Louisiana) def. #37 Abi Altick/Taylor Johnson (UCLA) 6-1, 6-4 |
Players Mentioned
