University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Arizona State
Women's Tennis Opens Pac-12 Play in Desert
March 06, 2019 | Women's Tennis
The No. 6 UCLA women's tennis team officially begins Pac-12 play this week with matches at Arizona State and Arizona. The Bruins (7-2) and Sun Devils (5-4) will face off Friday, March 8 at Whiteman Tennis Center. First serve is set for 12:30 p.m. (PT) and will be streamed HERE. On Saturday, March 9, the Bruins will take on the Wildcats (8-3) at Lanelle Robson Tennis Center. The 11 a.m. (PT) match will be streamed HERE.
LAST WEEK
The No. 5 Bruins fell to crosstown rival and No. 32 USC 4-1 in a non-conference match Friday, March 1 at Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Trojans got on the board first, winning a close doubles competition when Angela Kulikov and Rianna Valdes defeated eighth-ranked Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield 6-4 with all eyes on the top court. Jada Hart momentarily pulled the Bruins even with a dominant performance against No. 34 Salma Ewing on the top court, but the Trojans eventually prevailed with three singles victories. Kulikov topped Elysia Bolton 6-3, 7-5 on Court 2 to clinch it.
UCLA VS. ARIZONA, ARIZONA STATE
UCLA holds all-time records of 58-18 versus Arizona State and 65-8 against Arizona. Last year, the Bruins turned in identical 4-0 wins against their foes from the desert. In the first of consecutive matches at Los Angeles Tennis Center, UCLA seized the doubles point from Arizona State before Ayan Broomfield, Jada Hart and Abi Altick won in singles play. Altick clinched the win. Then, one day later, the Bruins surrendered just one game in completed doubles matches before Hart, Gabby Andrews and Ena Shibahara captured straight-set singles victories. Hart clinched the win.
BRUINS IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA dropped to No. 6 in in the Oracle ITA team rankings, announced Tuesday. The Bruins had spent the previous two weeks at No. 5, marking their first appearances in the top five since the final installment of the 2015 season. Six UCLA players appeared in the latest individual rankings, also announced Tuesday, March 5. Bolton leads the way at No. 10 and is backed up by Hart at No. 64 and Altick at No. 110. The pairing of Andrews-Broomfield checks in at No. 10 in the doubles rankings, while Bolton-Hart appears at No. 16 and Altick-Miller No. 48. The team sits at No. 9 in the Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top 25 Rankings, updated Wednesday, March 6.
STANDOUT SENIORS
Seniors Andrews, Broomfield and Miller constitute the core of the UCLA roster and bring with them different journeys to Westwood. Miller joined the Bruins as a freshman in 2015 and has racked up 131 wins across singles and doubles competitions. Andrews achieved All-America status for her singles and doubles accomplishments at Tyler Junior College before transferring to UCLA as a sophomore in 2016. Broomfield was named ACC Freshman of the Year and twice received All-ACC honors before transferring to UCLA as a junior in 2017.
BOLTON NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR JAN. 28-FEB. 3
Bolton was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of Jan. 28-Feb. 3, the conference announced. UCLA improved to 4-0 thanks in large part to Bolton's efforts, as the Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. native clinched Bruin road wins at Oklahoma State (Feb. 2) and Tulsa (Feb. 3). In addition to Bolton's singles successes, the first-year player teamed with Hart for a pair of doubles triumphs. The first win secured the doubles point, propelling the Bruins to victory over the No. 9 Cowgirls. The award represents the first of Bolton's career and 23rd all time for the UCLA women's tennis program.
2017-18 IN REVIEW
It was a stellar all-around 2017-18 campaign for the Bruins, who went 23-6 and reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships before seeing their journey come to an end in a 4-3 shootout versus Georgia Tech. UCLA lost just one Pac-12 match during the regular season and won 11 contests in a row before falling to eventual NCAA champion Stanford in a hard-fought title match at the Pac-12 Championships. Ena Shibahara starred individually, earning recognition as ITA Southwest Region Player to Watch, Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and an All-Pac-12 First-Team member. Shibahara, Hart and Fleming received All-America accolades from the ITA. Hart, Fleming, Altick and Miller joined Shibahara in garnering All-Pac-12 honors.
WHO'S GONE?
Shibahara, who went 27-10 in singles play and 28-4 in doubles action in 2017-18, has departed to pursue a professional career. All 21 of her dual-match singles decisions came on the top court. The steady Fleming has graduated. She went 16-14 in singles play and a team-best 14-8 in dual-match doubles play. Kristin Wiley is gone after a 4-5 singles showing and a 3-3 doubles effort, while Kelly Shaffer rounds out the list of departees.
WHO'S BACK?
All-American and two-time All-Pac-12 Second Teamer Hart is back after filling the No. 2 singles spot for a vast majority of the 2017-18 dual-match season. The redshirt junior was also one half of the top doubles tandem. Seniors Andrews, Broomfield and Miller also bring experience and 2017-18 success. Andrews-Broomfield went 10-4 from the No. 2 doubles slot, while Broomfield went 17-11 across three singles courts. Miller lost just once in her final 19 singles matches and failed to lose any of her final 19 doubles contests. Altick is back after a standout debut season. The Monroe, La. native registered a team-high 30 singles wins. Sophomore Sophie Bendetti is also back.
WHO'S NEW?
Two of the nation's top recruits join the fold in Bolton and Johnson. Bolton, a Blue-Chip prospect according to TennisRecruting.net, was ranked No. 4 in the nation by the website at the time of her signing. Nationally, the USTA had the right-hander slotted at No. 13 in its Girls' 18 doubles rankings, as well. In September, Bolton made a run to the quarterfinal round at the US Open Junior Tennis Championships in both the singles and doubles competitions. Johnson spent 2017 and 2018 atop the TennisRecruiting.net rankings. In 2017, she teamed with Claire Liu to claim the doubles title at the USTA Girls' 18 National Championships in San Diego. The 5-10 left-hander participated in all four Grand Slam junior tournaments, notching quarterfinal-round berths in each doubles draw. LaFrance is a veteran of the ITF circuit, notching nine doubles championships with five partners across four continents.
KATZ FAMILY SCOREBOARD
UCLA tennis and the UCLA Athletic Department debuted the Katz Family Scoreboard Wednesday, Jan. 9 in front of donors and special invited guests at LATC. The ceremony culminated in a ribbon cutting by the Katz Family, Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero, women's tennis head coach Stella Sampras Webster and men's tennis head coach Billy Martin. Each, along with Sr. Associate Athletic Director, External Relations Josh Rebholz, made remarks highlighting the meaning of the Katz Family's generous donation and the opportunities the scoreboard will provide the tennis programs. The Katz Family Scoreboard's Daktronics display, measuring 18 feet high and 31.2 feet wide, is among the largest LED video screens in collegiate tennis. Stationed at the east end of LATC's main stadium courts, the board has a 13HD pixel pitch capable of switching between content playback mode and video mode using Show Control. RGB LED lights, meanwhile, will allow for a multitude of graphics possibilities. Also new to the match-day experience is a custom JBL speaker system set to improve audio on the front courts while introducing sound to the back courts.
ALUMNAE SPOTLIGHT
Jennifer Brady was part of UCLA's 2014 NCAA championship-winning team and her winning ways have continued into the professional ranks. Brady had a breakout 2017 and showed she was no fluke in 2018, reaching the singles second round of each Grand Slam tournament. She broke onto the pro scene at the 2017 Australian Open, winning all three of her qualifying matches before notching three more victories in the main draw. Brady went on to reach the fourth round at the 2017 US Open, as well. She also had doubles success, advancing to the third round of the 2018 French Open and the semifinal round of the 2019 Australian Open. Brady, a Boca Raton, Fla. native, has been ranked as high as No. 60 (Oct. 16, 2017) in the WTA singles rankings and she recently climbed to a career-best No. 49 (Feb. 18, 2019) on the doubles list.
HEAD COACH STELLA SAMPRAS WEBSTER
Head coach Stella Sampras Webster is in her 23rd season at the helm of the UCLA women's tennis program, holding an impressive overall record of 425-160 (.726). Sampras Webster has guided the Bruins to NCAA team championships in 2008 and 2014, the first two in program history. The 2012 ITA National Coach of the Year, Stella Sampras Webster is also responsible for helping the Bruins to their first Pac-10 Championship in 2008. For her efforts, she was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year at the end of the season. In all, Sampras Webster's teams have finished in the top 10 at the NCAA Championships in 19 of her 22 seasons in Westwood. UCLA has also finished in the top five nationally on 13 occasions. The 2000 ITA West Region Coach of the Year, Sampras Webster has recruited and coached some of the top players in collegiate tennis.
Players Mentioned
