University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Andrews-Broomfield Tops No. 1 USC Pair in Semis
May 24, 2019 | Women's Tennis
ORLANDO, Fla. -- The UCLA women's tennis pair of Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield upset top-seeded Angela Kulikov and Rianna Valdes 6-4, 6-4 Friday, earning a berth in Saturday's NCAA Championships final round at the USTA National Campus.
The title-match appearance marks the first for a UCLA pair since Robin Anderson and Skylar Morton accomplished the feat in 2013.
Third-seeded Andrews and Broomfield recorded five breaks of serve, including pivotal ones at 3-3 and 4-4 in the second set. The duo will face off against unseeded Kate Fahey and Brienne Minor of Michigan in Saturday's final. First serve is set for 2 p.m., PT.
?? Down Goes No. 1!
— NCAA Tennis (@NCAATennis) May 25, 2019
Andrews/Broomfield of @uclawtennis d. top-seeded Kulikov/Valdes (USC) 6-4, 6-4 for a spot in the final! pic.twitter.com/bzFHXwxijF
"We're seniors, might as well have a good time, laugh whenever we can," said Andrews. "We're still going to come out and still compete. That's what we did today. I think just competing and striving for every point and getting every point and having a positive attitude, that helped today."
The Bruins set the tone immediately, bouncing back from a 0-40 deficit to break the Trojans for the match's opening game. After a hold, they would break again for a 3-0 lead. Kulikov-Valdes took the next two games to put an end to the Bruins' hot start, but holds were traded the rest of the way and that was all Andrews-Broomfield needed. A Broomfield serve was too hot to handle and returned out wide to complete the 6-4 opening-set win.
Andrews-Broomfield started the second set strong, as well, breaking the Trojans off the bat en route to a 2-0 lead. Kulikov-Valdes picked up a big break at 2-3 to knot things up, but the Bruins closed with two breaks and a hold. After a lengthy rally, a USC shot at the net popped up high and landed out of play. Andrews collapsed to the ground and eventually stood to hug her fellow senior.
"Gabby and I, we both transferred here," said Broomfield. "We both transferred to UCLA. We were looking for a more competitive program, a better program, a better place for us to grow as people and as tennis players. Win or lose tomorrow, I think we've done that. I think we've helped the program as much as we could. I think that we've grown as individuals. We have great relationships with the girls on the team, the coaching staff, everyone at UCLA. So I think the win would be a lot for UCLA and the tennis program, but I think win or lose, we're really proud of what we've accomplished already."
Players Mentioned
