University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA
Washington
Broomfield, UCLA Hold On to Reach Pac-12 Final
April 26, 2019 | Women's Tennis
OJAI, Calif. – The second-seeded UCLA women's tennis team endured a frantic comeback by No. 3 Washington, holding on for a 4-3 victory at Weil Tennis Academy. The win advanced the Bruins to Saturday's Pac-12 Championships final round at Libbey Park, where they will meet top-seeded Stanford at 12 p.m.
Ayan Broomfield provided the heroics for UCLA, winning six of seven games in her deciding third set on Court 3. The Bruins (18-6) raced out to a 3-0 lead behind the doubles point and singles victories by Abi Altick and Gabby Andrews. Washington countered with wins Natsuho Arakawa, Stacey Fung and Vanessa Wong. The Huskies dropped to 19-4.
Broomfield sends UCLA to the #Pac12Tennis final!!! #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/MmP04h0mbW
— UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) April 27, 2019
For the second match of the tournament, UCLA's pairs on Courts 2 and 3 starred in doubles play. The red-hot combination of Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart, ranked No. 12 in the nation, took the first five games from Huskies Zoey Weil and Vanessa Wong en route to a 6-1 win on the middle court. The victory marked Bolton-Hart's 11th in a row and team-high 27th of the season.
Altick-Johnson also took five of the first six games on Court 3, putting Natsuho Arakawa and Kenadi Hance on the brink of elimination. The teams would alternate the final two games, giving the Bruins the win and doubles point. Altick-Johnson has now won four consecutive matches and eight of nine on the season.
The Bruins took four first sets, including a 6-4 performance by No. 118 Altick against Sedona Gallagher on Court 5. The sophomore kept it going into the second frame, taking the first four games en route to a 6-1 result and the first point of singles play.
Andrews continued her recent success on Court 6, taking the last two games of her first set against Nika Zupancic and three of the final four in the second for a 6-4, 6-3 triumph. The senior has now won four matches in a row, running her singles record to 11-5.
The final straight-set decision came on Court 4, as momentum began to turn in favor of the Huskies. Arakawa dealt Alaina Miller a 7-5, 6-4 defeat to make it 3-1 as tides were began to turn on each of the top two courts.
With first sets to their names, No. 42 Hart and No. 29 Bolton held second-set advantages of 4-2 and 5-2, respectively. Each of those sets would end in a tiebreaker, however, with Court 2 decided first. In a nail-biter, Wong prevailed by a 9-7 margin to complete her comeback. No. 65 Stacey Fung followed suit with a 7-5 result. Each Husky rode her success into a third set, with Fung coming out on top of a 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 score and Wong winning 5-7, 7-6(7), 6-2.
Despite picking up an early break of serve, Broomfield was doubled up in her first set against Nika Zupancic. The second set needed a 13th game, which Broomfield claimed 7-5 in a near must-win situation. Finally, the Toronto native controlled the day's final set, taking the first four games and six of seven to set off a Bruin celebration. The 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-1 result marked Broomfield's third three-set win in a two-week span.
2019 PAC-12 WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals // Fri., April 26, 2019 // Weil Tennis Academy, Ojai, Calif.
No. 2 UCLA 4, No. 3 Washington 3
DOUBLES:
1. Stacey Fung/Nika Zupancic, WASH v. Gabby Andrews/Ayan Broomfield, UCLA - 3-2 unf.
2. Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart, UCLA def. Vanessa Wong/Zoey Weil, WASH - 6-1
3. Abi Altick/Taylor Johnson, UCLA def. Kenadi Hance/Natsuho Arakawa, WASH - 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3
SINGLES:
1. Stacey Fung, WASH def. Jada Hart, UCLA - 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
2. Vanessa Wong, WASH def. Elysia Bolton, UCLA - 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-2
3. Ayan Broomfield, UCLA def. Katarina Kopcalic, WASH - 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
4. Natsuho Arakawa, WASH def. Alaina Miller, UCLA - 7-5, 6-4
5. Abi Altick, UCLA def. Sedona Gallagher, WASH - 6-4, 6-1
6. Gabby Andrews, UCLA def. Nika Zupancic, WASH - 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 6, 4, 1, 2, 3
Team Stats
#1 Doubles Match
#2 Doubles Match
#3 Doubles Match
Order of Finish:
2,3
#1 Singles Match
#2 Singles Match
#3 Singles Match
#4 Singles Match
#5 Singles Match
#6 Singles Match
Order of Finish:
5,6,4,1,2,3
Players Mentioned
