SEATTLE – UCLA women's tennis was outlasted by Washington late in the teams' Pac-12 opener Friday afternoon, falling by a 4-3 score at Nordstrom Tennis Center.
In a match that saw three singles contests go three sets, the Bruins (3-3, 0-1 Pac-12) ultimately could not overcome the Huskies' early 2-0 lead. Kimmi Hance, Fangran Tian and Elise Wagle were victorious for UCLA. Melissa Sakar clinched the overall win for UW (9-3, 1-0), which also saw Jennifer Kerr and Astrid Olsen prevail in singles play.
The Huskies seized the doubles point with 6-3 wins on Courts 2 and 3. On the bottom court, Sarah Maude-Fortin and Erika Matsuda broke the serve of Vanessa Ong and Sasha Vagramov at 1-1 and 5-3 and were first to finish. Then, in the middle, Kerr and Olsen took four of the first five games versus Tian and Ava Catanzarite – including a break out of the gate – en route to the clinching victory. The Bruins' sixth-ranked tandem of Hance and Wagle was up a break on the top court, holding a 5-4 advantage, but the match was left unfinished.
UCLA collected four initial singles sets in an effort to steer momentum in their direction. UW struck first, however, as No. 93 Kerr bested Vagramov by a 6-1, 6-4 score on Court 4. The Bruins got on the board soon after thanks to Wagle's seventh singles wins in eight 2022-23 results. Her 6-2, 6-3 victory against Erika Matsuda cut the UCLA's deficit in half.
Hance evened the overall score on Court 2, where she held off Fortin by a 6-1, 7-5 margin for her second singles win in as many tries.
The Huskies' pulled within one point of the elusive fourth when Olsen completed her comeback against Catanzarite on Court 3. The 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 decision pushed UW's lead to 3-2 with freshmen Tian and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer left on the courts for the Bruins.
Sakar seized the final four games on Court 5, dispatching of Lutkemeyer by a 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 score and securing the team victory in the process.
With the match decided, No. 57 Tian did not go quietly up top. In danger of falling behind 0-4 as No. 100 Sato held a 40-0 advantage, the Bruin responded emphatically. The final six games went the way of Tian, whose 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 win improved her singles record to 12-5 (4-0 in dual matches).
UCLA will have a chance to bounce back Sunday, when it visits Washington State. First serve from Simmelink Tennis Courts at Hollingbery Fieldhouse is set for 11 a.m. PT.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Washington
3/3/2023 at Seattle, WA
(Nordstrom Tennis Center)
#26 Washington 4, #63 UCLA 3
Singles competition
1. #57 Fangran Tian (UCLA) def. #100 Hikaru Sato (WASH) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
2. #84 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. Sarah-Maude Fortin (WASH) 6-1, 7-5
3. Astrid Olsen (WASH) def. #64 Ava Catanzarite (UCLA) 3-6, 6-0, 6-1
4. #93 Jennifer Kerr (WASH) def. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 6-1, 6-4
5. Melissa Sakar (WASH) def. A. Lutkemeyer (UCLA) 4-6, 7-5, 6-3
6. Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. Erika Matsuda (WASH) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Hikaru Sato/Zehra Suko (WASH) vs. #6 Kimmi Hance/Elise Wagle (UCLA) 4-5, unfinished
2. Jennifer Kerr/Astrid Olsen (WASH) def. Ava Catanzarite/Fangran Tian (UCLA) 6-3
3. Sarah-Maude Fortin/Erika Matsuda (WASH) def. Vanessa Ong/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 6-3
Match Notes:
UCLA 3-3; National ranking #63
Washington 9-3; National ranking #26
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,6,2,3,5,1)