Kate Fakih/Olivia CenterKate Fakih/Olivia Center
JEFF LIANG

Kate Fakih (left) and Olivia Center

Women's Tennis Advances to Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

Women's Tennis

Fourth-seeded UCLA defeated No. 5 seed Wisconsin 4-1 at Libbey Park in Ojai, Calif.

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OJAI, Calif. – The fourth-seeded UCLA women's tennis team beat No. 5 seed Wisconsin 4-1 in quarterfinal-round action Thursday at Libbey Park, site of the 2025 Big Ten Women's Tennis Tournament.

Olivia Center clinched the decision in three sets. Also victorious for the Bruins (16-7) in singles play were Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle. The Badgers (18-5) got on the board in singles action with a win by Tianna Rangan. This was the second meeting of the season for the teams, as UCLA won in a 4-3 thriller at Los Angeles Tennis Center on April 5.

The Bruins advance to face top-seeded Michigan Friday at 12 p.m. PT. The Wolverines (22-3) outlasted No. 8 seed Maryland in a 4-3 result earlier Thursday.

It was a tale of two halves in the top-50 doubles matchup on Court 1, with No. 15 Hance/Elise Wagle of taking four of the first five games. No. 48 Ariel Johnson/Maria Sholokhova bounced back emphatically for Wisconsin, however, seizing the final five to win 6-4. UCLA would answer on Court 2, as No. 9 Center/Kate Fakih needed just an opening break of serve against Taylor Cataldi/Ellison Reynoldson, prevailing 6-4.

Court 3 looked primed for the taking by Wisconsin, with Ekaterina Ivanova/Kája Jacobson taking four of the initial five games. Six of the final seven went the way of UCLA's Ahmani Guichard/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, which clinched with a 7-5 win. Guichard/Lutkemeyer and Center/Fakih each improved to 15-4 in dual-match play.

Staked to a lead, the Bruins claimed four singles first sets. No. 84 Hance had a clean slate, but needed to fight off Cataldi in the second. In the end, Hance picked up her fifth win in a row, 6-0, 7-5.

Rangan put the Badgers on the board, beating Guichard 6-2, 7-5 on Court 5. Moments later, though, No. 66 Wagle bested Ivanova 6-3, 6-3 on Court 3. The win marked Wagle's seventh in a row.

Each of the remaining matches moved to a third set. In the end, Center took control of the Court 6 contest. The freshman's second clincher of the season came by way of a 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 result opposite Reynoldson on Court 6.

Tennis Match Results
Wisconsin vs UCLA
4/24/2025 at Ojai, CA
(Libbey Park)

#16 UCLA 4, #23 Wisconsin 1

Singles competition

1. #34 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) vs. Maria Sholokhova (WIS) 3-6, 7-5, 2-3, unfinished
2. #84 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. Taylor Cataldi (WIS) 6-0, 7-5
3. #66 Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. Ekaterina Ivanova (WIS) 6-3, 6-3
4. #33 Kate Fakih (UCLA) vs. Ariel Johnson (WIS) 6-2, 4-6, 4-4, unfinished
5. Tianna Rangan (WIS) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) 6-2, 7-5
6. Olivia Center (UCLA) def. Ellison Reynoldson (WIS) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #48 Ariel Johnson/Maria Sholokhova (WIS) def. #15 Kimmi Hance/Elise Wagle (UCLA) 6-4
2. #9 Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. Taylor Cataldi/Ellison Reynoldson (WIS) 6-4
3. Ahmani Guichard/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Ekaterina Ivanova/Kaja Jacobson (WIS) 7-5

Match Notes:
Wisconsin 18-5; National ranking #23
UCLA 16-7; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (2,5,3,6)