UCLA
Oregon
Women's Tennis Eyes More Pac-12 Success at Oregon
March 25, 2021 | Women's Tennis
MATCH INFORMATION
Date/Time: Sunday, March 28/11:00 AM PT
Live Stream/Live Stats: GoDucks.com
Series vs. Oregon: UCLA leads, 24-1
Last Meeting vs. Oregon: UCLA won 6-1 on March 24, 2019
THIS WEEK
After a brief pitstop at Los Angeles Tennis Center, the No. 10 UCLA women's tennis team heads to the University of Oregon for the first stop on its final three-match regular-season road swing. The Bruins (10-3, 4-0 Pac-12) visit the Oregon Student Tennis Center Sunday at 11 a.m., PT for a conference matchup. The Ducks (10-3, 3-1) are coming off a split of non-league contests in San Diego, where they suffered a loss to the University of San Diego before bouncing back to defeat San Diego State.
FOLLOW LIVE
If matches are played indoors, live video will be available at GoDucks.com. Live results will also be displayed at GoDucks.com, regardless of location.
Fans are not permitted to attend events at UCLA Athletics venues, including Los Angeles Tennis Center, in adherence to the latest COVID-19 guidelines set by the state of California and Los Angeles County. Live streaming and live scoring for all home UCLA women's tennis matches will be available at UCLABruins.com.
UCLA VS. OREGON
UCLA women's tennis holds a combined 24-1 all-time record against Oregon. The programs last met March 24, 2019, when the Bruins logged a 6-1 win at the Oregon Student Tennis Center. They clinched the match at 4-0 before the remaining matches were played to completion. It was a big day for Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart of UCLA. The pair clinched the doubles point and each also prevailed in singles play. Bolton clinched the overall victory. Abi Altick and Taylor Johnson also tallied singles wins for the Bruins in played contests. Forced to forfeit a pair of matches, the Ducks got their lone win from Julia Eshet after Alaina Miller retired.
LAST TIME OUT
UCLA bested visiting Utah (7-0 - March 19) and Colorado (4-0 - March 20) by a combined 11-0 margin in its first matches at Los Angeles Tennis Center since Jan. 25. The Bruins did not drop a single set during the homestand, with Vanessa Ong and Vivian Wolff each collecting a pair of singles wins. Ong clinched the victory over the Utes, while Wolff did the honors against the Buffaloes. Making their first appearances as partners, Ong and Sasha Vagramov picked up two doubles wins. With her doubles win alongside Abbey Forbes, Jada Hart secured No. 200 overall of her career versus Utah. She would add No. 201 in singles play.
IN THE RANKINGS
The Bruins are slotted at No. 4 in the initial Tennis Channel/USTA Top 25 of 2021, it was announced Wednesday. They are No. 10 in the latest Oracle ITA team rankings, the Intercollegiate Tennis Association also announced Wednesday. The newest Oracle ITA player rankings, revealed Wednesday, include Elysia Bolton, Abbey Forbes and Jada Hart of UCLA. Forbes is the No. 8 singles player, while Bolton checks in at No. 48. Forbes and Hart make up the No. 51 doubles combination, marking Forbes' first-career appearance on the list. Bolton and Hart, who began the season as the No. 1 doubles pair, sit at No. 72.
SHE'S NOT. DONE. YET!
In a letter to the UCLA community April 23, 2020, Jada Hart announced she would take advantage of an additional year of eligibility provided by the NCAA after the coronavirus pandemic-shortened 2019-20 season. Hart said, "Knowing I was going to get an extra year to end my UCLA career on my terms was an opportunity I could not pass up ... I'm very blessed to get one more year to wear the blue and gold and be surrounded by an amazing team that I get to call MY FAMILY." On March 19, she earned career win No. 200 alongside doubles partner Abbey Forbes. Hart holds a career singles record of 88-39 and currently sits in14th place on the program's career wins list (since 1991). On the doubles side, she possesses a record of 113-37 and captured the 2019 Oracle ITA Fall National Championships doubles title with partner Elysia Bolton. Hart has a chance to become the ninth four-time All-American in UCLA women's tennis history.
FORBES 100
Ten of Abbey Forbes' 11 singles opponents in 2021 have been slotted in the top 100 of the Oracle ITA singles rankings when the meetings occurred. Forbes, who is listed at No. 8 in the rankings, is 9-1 in those matches and 10-1 overall. She is 4-0 against top-20 foes, knocking off then-No. 1 Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine, then-No. 5 Anna Turati of Texas and then-No. 18 Haley Giavara of California on two occasions. All four of those matches, as well as five other Forbes wins, were finished in straight sets. Her only loss of the season came against No. 33 Jessica Failla of Pepperdine, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Stillwater, Okla.
FORBES JOINS BOLTON, HART IN POTW CLUB
One season removed from collecting five of eight Pac-12 Player of the Week awards, UCLA student-athletes have received three conference honors in 2021. Elysia Bolton, who was on court for the first and final points of the Bruins' ITA Kickoff Weekend win over Texas A&M, received the third of her career. Jada Hart brought in the sixth of her time at UCLA after a trip to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships that included singles wins over No. 94 Lulu Sun of Texas and No. 45 Lexi Ryngler of Pepperdine. Most recently, Abbey Forbes earned her second-career POTW nod after knocking off the nation's No. 1 player, Ashley Lahey of Pepperdine, in the Bruins' 4-3 loss to the Waves. UCLA women's tennis has garnered 33 Pac-12 Player of the Week awards in program history.
NEWCOMERS
Freshman Vanessa Ong and University of Georgia transfer Vivian Wolff join the Bruins in 2020-21. Hailing from Oklahoma City, Ong was a Blue-Chip prospect who ranked as high as No. 2 in her class, according to TennisRecruiting.net. Ong earned a berth into the 2016 US Open junior tournament, where she won three singles matches before falling to current WTA No. 8 Bianca Andreescu of Canada on the Grandstand court. Ong reached the quarterfinal rounds of the Eddie Herr Girls' 18 doubles and Orange Bowl Girls' 18 singles draws, respectively, in 2017. She went on to earn trips to the 2018 Easter Bowl Girls' 18 doubles semifinal round and the 2018 USTA International Spring Championships Girls' 18 singles quarters. Ong was a standout performer at the 2018 USTA Billie Jean King National Championships, registering quarterfinal-round showings in the Girls' 18 singles and doubles draws. Wolff, a senior, moves to the West Coast after achieving All-America status with partner Elena Christofi for their performance during the 2019 fall season. Georgia registered a national runner-up finish in 2019 and Wolff proved a major part on the fourth singles court. The then-sophomore went 32-3, including a 24-1 showing in dual matches. Wolff won her final 20 singles decisions on the year and garnered First-Team All-SEC recognition.
BRUINS IN THE PROS
A bevy of Bruins is active on the professional circuits, with Jennifer Brady (2014, 2015) and Ena Shibahara (2017, 2018) currently building off breakout 2020 campaigns. Brady climbed to a career-best No. 13 in the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings on Feb. 22. That was achieved in large part due to her performances at the 2020 US Open and, most recently, the 2021 Australian Open. The ranking also represents the best-ever showing by a Bruin. Brady advanced to the singles final round at the Australian Open, surpassing her semifinal-round showing at the US Open just months earlier. Brady also captured the first WTA title of her career in the singles draw of the 2020 Top Seed Open in Lexington, Ky. Shibahara, meanwhile, has attained much of her success in doubles play. Alongside regular partner Shuko Aoyama, Shibahara claimed the top spots at the Abu Dhabi Open and the Yarra Valley Classic events early this year. The titles marked the fourth and fifth on the WTA Tour for Shibahara/Aoyama. Shibahara reached a career-high No. 15 in the WTA doubles rankings on Feb. 22.
HEAD COACH STELLA SAMPRAS WEBSTER
Head coach Stella Sampras Webster is in her 25th season at the helm of the UCLA women's tennis program, compiling an impressive overall record of 463-169 (.733). She is the second-longest-tenured active coach at UCLA, behind men's tennis head coach Billy Martin. Sampras Webster has guided her alma mater to NCAA championships in 2008 and 2014, the first two in program history. Her teams have finished top-10 nationally in 20 of her 23 completed seasons and in the top five 14 times. Three doubles pairs have won NCAA titles under Sampras Webster's tutelage, most recently Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield in 2019.
Players Mentioned
