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Women's Tennis Closes Regular Season at USC
April 18, 2019 | Women's Tennis
The No. 10 UCLA women's tennis team will close the regular-season portion of its schedule on Saturday, April 20, when it visits crosstown rival and 15th-ranked USC. First serve from Marks Tennis Stadium is set for 11 a.m. The Bruins and Trojans, along with Washington, are in a three-way tie for second place in the conference at 7-2. The Huskies will face rival Washington State on Saturday. Live video from the UCLA-USC showdown will be available HERE.
LAST WEEK
The Bruins split a pair of matches in the Pacific Northwest, falling to No. 42 Washington State before taking down No. 15 Washington. UCLA was unable to complete its comeback from a 3-1 deficit on the bottom courts, falling to No. 42 Washington State 4-2 on Friday, April 12 at Hollingbery Fieldhouse. The Bruins got off on the right foot by claiming the doubles point, but were able to claim just one singles winโby Ayan Broomfieldโthe rest of the way. The posted a convincing bounce-back performance two days later, though, defeating the Huskies at Nordstrom Tennis Center. It was a big day for seniors Broomfield and Gabby Andrews, who teamed for an all-or-nothing doubles victory before also notching singles wins. It was also a two-win match for freshman Elysia Bolton.
UCLA VS. USC
UCLA holds an all-time record of 53-51 against USC. In the teams' most recent meeting, earlier this season, USC recorded a 4-1 win in a non-conference match at Los Angeles Tennis Center (March 1). USC got on the board first, winning a close doubles competition. Jada Hart momentarily pulled the Bruins even with a dominant performance on the top court, but the Trojans eventually prevailed with singles victories by Becca Weissmann, Rianna Valdes and Angela Kulikov.
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 140 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.
HART NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK FOR MARCH 25-31
Hart was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of March 25-31, the conference announced April 2. She was unbeatable over the course of UCLA's three home matches, racking up wins in each of her three singles showdowns and both of her doubles duels. Her trio of top-court singles triumphs included upsets of No. 28 Michaela Gordon of Stanford and No. 30 Julia Rosenqvist of California. Her third win, a 6-2, 6-2 result against Elizaveta Volodko of UCSB, clinched the team win. All three singles wins came on the top court. The 22nd-ranked tandem of Hart and Elysia Bolton also took care of business against a pair of top-25 opponents on Court 2, posting resounding 6-1 wins against No. 18 Gordon-Emily Arbuthnott and 23rd-ranked Anna Bright-Jasie Dunk of Cal. The latter clinched the doubles point. With her first weekly award of 2019, Hart has now tallied five for her career. As a program, UCLA women's tennis has racked up 24.
BRUINS IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA remained in the top 10 at No. 10 in the Oracle ITA team rankings, announced Tuesday. The Bruins spent two previous 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. Bolton leads the way on the singles list at No. 24 and is backed up by Hart at No. 39. The pairing of Andrews-Broomfield checks in at No. 8 in the doubles rankings after spending last week in the top five. Bolton-Hart appears at No. 12 and Altick-Miller is slotted at No. 46. Broomfield-Hart rounds out the list at No. 88. The team sits at No. 13 in the Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top 25 Rankings, updated Wednesday, April 17.
RED-HOT HART
Hart had an uneventful start to the dual-match season, as five of her six singles contests were left unfinished (Jan. 27-Feb. 23). From Feb. 24-April 3, however, the redshirt junior went on to win eight of nine completed matches. She has now won nine of 11, including triumphs over Julia Rosenqvist of California (No. 45), Salma Ewing of USC (No. 34), Michaela Gordon of Stanford (28), Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine (45) and Rosenqvist (30) again. Hart has seen her own singles ranking climb as a result, moving from unranked to No. 39 in the nation. The 12th-ranked doubles tandem of Hart and Bolton has also won nine straight matches and a team-high 24 on the season.
PRESSURE MAKES HER 'TICK
High-tension situations have repeatedly found Altick during the dual-match season and the sophomore has made the most of her opportunities. The Monroe, La. native is tied for the team lead with four match-clinching victories, including a pair in 4-3 Bruin wins. With all eyes on Court 4, Altick defeated 69th-ranked Anna Bright of No. 24 Cal 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in a non-conference match at the Hellman Tennis Complex on Feb. 24. She also topped Marie Van Aelst of Arizona 6-3, 7-5 in UCLA's narrow conference win over the Wildcats on March 9. Playing on Court 3, Altick clinched the decision at 4-2 before the day's final match was played out.
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 Feb. 5. 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.
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 two Grand Slam tournaments. 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 has also had doubles success, advancing to the third round of the 2018 French Open and the semifinal round of the 2019 Australian Open. Brady was recently selected to represent the United States at the Fed Cup World Group playoffs in San Antonio. 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. 48 (April 15, 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 435-164 (.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, 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
