University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Women's Tennis Represented in Both Quarters
May 22, 2019 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCLA women's tennis team will be represented in the quarterfinal round of each NCAA Championships individual tournament, as Jada Hart advanced in singles play and Gabby Andrews-Ayan Broomfield moved on in doubles action Wednesday.
Elysia Bolton was knocked out of the singles bracket in three sets, completing an impressive NCAA Championships debut that also saw her reach the Round of 16 in doubles with Hart before falling Wednesday.
The wins by Hart and Andrews-Broomfield gave the Bruins a final-eight participant in each tournament, marking the first such occurrence for a UCLA team since 2008 (Zalameda – singles, Lin-Zalameda – doubles).
With wins against Duke's Meible Chi (No. 33) and Stanford's Michaela Gordon (24) already in the books, No. 45 Hart took down her third higher-ranked opponent in as many days. Twenty-fifth-ranked Katarina Stresnakova held a 5-3 advantage with eyes on a tone-setting, first-set win. The Bruin closed with the final four games, however, to flip the script. Then, leading 5-4 in the second set, Hart delivered a break of serve to complete her 11th victory against a nationally-ranked opponent and fifth in a row.
Jada Hart Advances! @uclawtennis RS junior takes down Stresnakova (OSU) 7-5, 6-4! pic.twitter.com/PJJTWjIbPa
— NCAA Tennis (@NCAATennis) May 22, 2019
One day removed from a three-set win against Anna Turati of Texas, Bolton was at it again in her Round-of-16 duel with North Carolina's Cameron Morra. No. 32 Bolton went to a first-set tiebreaker against the 46th-ranked Tar Heel and took control there. The freshman surrendered just one point to Morra in taking the opening frame. The second also proved destined for a tiebreaker, which Morra took 7-4 to send the match to a deciding third set. There, Morra controlled the match to the tune of a 6-2 score, ending Bolton's singles campaign. The Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. native went 28-14, notching 12 victories against nationally-ranked foes.
Third-seeded Gabby Andrews-Ayan Broomfield needed all of its two sets against Clemson's Marie-Alexandre Leduc and Fernanda Navarro, capturing its quarterfinal-round berth with back-to-back tiebreakers. Neither side could establish a true advantage in the first set, but Andrews-Broomfield eventually rode its tying sixth game to a 7-4 win in the breaker. The Bruins jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second, only to have the Tigers counter in search of a deciding third set. Andrews-Broomfield did not let the match get there, however, edging Leduc-Navarro 7-5 in what proved to be the deciding extra game.
In a match that did not begin until approximately 10:30 p.m., ET, Bolton-Hart saw its journey come to an end against Michigan's all-senior pair of Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor. After dropping the first set 2-6, the Bruins charged back to force a tiebreaker in the second. Fahey-Minor would take seven of nine points for the overall win. A winner of 15 of 16 decisions heading into the match, Bolton-Hart dropped to 31-9 to complete its season.
Next up for Hart is the tournament's No. 2 seed, Katarina Jokic of Georgia. The Bulldog took down 9-16 seed Anastasia Rychagova of Kansas in three sets Wednesday. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m., PT.
Andrews-Broomfield will face North Carolina's 5-8 seed, Morra-Makenna Jones. The Tar Heels fended off UCF's Ksenia Kuznetsova and Valeriya Zeleva 7-5, 7-6(6) in their Round-of-16 match. The match will start no earlier than 5 p.m., PT.
Players Mentioned
