UCLA
North Carolina
Women's Tennis Continues NCAA Journey in Orlando
May 13, 2019 | Women's Tennis
ON SERVE
The seventh-seeded UCLA women's tennis team heads to Orlando, Fla., the final site of the 2019 NCAA Division I Championships, in search of the program's third national title. First up for the Bruins is a quarterfinal-round tilt against second-seeded North Carolina, set for Friday, May 17 at 9 a.m., PT. A potential semifinal-round match would be played Saturday, May 18 at 11 a.m., while the championship match is scheduled for Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m. Tennis Channel will cover more than 50 hours of the team and individual championships, including the final. Matches not shown on Tennis Channel will be available via live stream on USTANationalCampus.com. Live stats will also be available. Matches will be played at the USTA National Campus, with the University of Central Florida and the Greater Orlando Sports Commission serving as hosts.
LAST WEEK
UCLA advanced to its second straight NCAA Championships quarterfinal round on Friday, May 10, when it defeated 10th-seeded Washington 4-0ย at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Abi Altick clinched the win, joining Gabby Andrews and Jada Hart in recording straight-set victories. The Bruins also picked up two doubles wins without a loss to get on the board. The Court-3 tandem of Altick and Taylor Johnson won its eighth straight and 12th out of 13 decisions, while Hart-Elysia Bolton took its 13th out of 14 to clinch the point.
UCLA IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS, VS. NORTH CAROLINA
UCLA women's tennis is one of two programs (Stanford) to qualify for the NCAA Championships each year since the tournament format was adopted, stretching the run to 38 seasons with its latest selection. The Bruins claimed each of the program's NCAA titles during that time, taking the top spots in 2008 and 2014. UCLA has now held the No. 7 seed six times, more than any other in the field. The program's first NCAA championship came as a No. 7 seed and it also posted a runner-up finish out of that position in 2015. UCLA holds an all-time record of 90-35 in NCAA play, including a 3-0 mark against North Carolina. The Bruins hope to channel their 2013 and 2015 predecessors, who, while seeded seventh, notched 4-1 victories against the No. 2 Tar Heels in the quarterfinal rounds of the NCAA Championships in Urbana, Ill. and Waco, Texas, respectively. Sandwiched between those two upset wins, fifth-seeded UCLA defeated seventh-seeded North Carolina 4-3 in Athens, Ga., giving the 2014 Bruins the program's second NCAA title. UCLA holds an all-time record of 6-3 against North Carolina, most recently falling 4-1 in the quarterfinal round of the ITA Team Indoor Championships on Feb. 10. The Bruins nearly climbed out of a deep hole in doubles play before losing the deciding match in a tiebreaker. The Tar Heels went on to win three of four singles contests.
BOLTON NAMED PAC-12'S TOP NEWCOMER, TWO OTHERS HONORED
Bolton was named Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday, May 7. Three Bruins, including Bolton, earned All-Conference esteem. Bolton and Hart were picked to the All-Pac-12 First Team, marking the first time two Bruins accomplished that feat in the same year since 2014 (Robin Anderson and Jennifer Brady). Broomfield earned All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention acclaim. With Bolton's award, five UCLA newcomers have been honored since 2012. Hart is a three-time All-Conference honoree, previously receiving Second-Team accolades in 2017 and 2018. Bolton and Broomfield became first timers, though Broomfield was twice named an All-ACC Second Teamer (2016, 2017) while at Clemson.
QUARTET SELECTED FOR NCAA SINGLES, DOUBLES
Andrews, Bolton, Broomfield and Hart have been selected to participate in the singles and doubles competitions at the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships in Orlando, Fla., the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Subcommittee announced Tuesday, April 30. Bolton and Hart received at-large selections to the singles field, while the pairs of Andrews-Broomfield and Bolton-Hart were selected to the doubles draw via at-large picks. Andrews-Broomfield earned the No. 4 seed for the doubles tournament and achieved All-America status as a result. Competitions will take place May 20-25 at the USTA National Campus.
ALTICK EARNS FIRST-CAREER PAC-12 POTW HONOR
Abi Altick was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of April 15-21, the conference announced Tuesday, April 23. The honor represents the first of her career. The sophomore came out on top of a pair of tiebreakers against Danielle Willson on Court 5, clinching a 4-2 win and the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Championships. Altick also teamed with Miller to defeat 90th-ranked Constance Branstine and Estella Jaeger by a 6-2 score in doubles play.
PAC-12 BEST: UCLA women's tennis has captured 25 weekly awards in the program's history and tallied a league-best-tying three this season. Bolton (Feb. 5) and Hart (April 2) previously won in 2019. UCLA's Keegan Smith received the men's award Tuesday, April 23, marking the eighth time that Bruins have swept the honors and second this year (April 2 โ Hart, Maxime Cressy).
PRESSURE MAKES HER 'TICK
High-tension situations have repeatedly found Altick during the dual-match season and she has made the most of her opportunities. The sophomore leads the team with six match-clinching victories, including two in 4-3 UCLA road wins. With all eyes on Court 4, Altick defeated 69th-ranked Anna Bright of California 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) in a non-conference match on Feb. 24. She also topped Marie Van Aelst of Arizona 6-3, 7-5 in UCLA's narrow conference win against 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. The Monroe, La. native has also locked up home victories versus Minnesota (Jan. 26), Cal (March 30) and Washington (May 10), as well as a road win against USC (April 20).
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 142 wins across singles and doubles competitions. Andrews achieved All-America status for her singles and doubles accomplishments at Tyler Junior College before joining the Bruins as a sophomore in 2016. Broomfield was named ACC Freshman of the Year and twice received All-ACC honors at Clemson before transferring to UCLA as a junior in 2017. Andrews and Broomfield were each named to the Division I All-America team for the first time this season.
BRUINS IN THE RANKINGS
UCLA remained in the top 10 of the Oracle/ITA team rankings, moving up to No. 7 in the Wednesday, May 1 installment. The Bruins spent two previous weeks at No. 5 (Feb. 20, 26), marking their first appearances in the top five since the final release of the 2015 season. They have spent 14 of 15 weeks in the top 10 this year. Seven UCLA players, meanwhile, appeared in the latest individual rankings. Bolton leads the way at No. 32 on the singles list and is followed by Hart at No. 45 and Altick at No. 120. The pairing of Andrews-Broomfield remained in the top five of the doubles rankings at No. 5, while Bolton-Hart matched its career-best showing at No. 11. Altick-Miller is slotted at No. 59, while Altick-Johnson debuted at No. 82. The team sits at No. 12 in the Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top 25 Rankings, also updated Wednesday, May 1.
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.
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. 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.
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. On Sunday, April 21, Brady helped the United States to a 3-2 win against Switzerland at the Fed Cup World Group playoffs in San Antonio. The 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
Sampras Webster is in her 23rd season at the helm of the UCLA women's tennis program, holding an impressive overall record of 441-165 (.728). 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
