Saturday, April 5
Los Angeles, Calif.
12:00 PM

UCLA

4
vs
3

Wisconsin

Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer
Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer
Photo by: Hritika Chaturvedi

No. 24 Women's Tennis Outlasts No. 19 Wisconsin in 4-3 Thriller

April 05, 2025 | Women's Tennis

LOS ANGELES – The 24th-ranked UCLA women's tennis team snapped No. 19 Wisconsin's 13-match winning streak Saturday, beating the Badgers in a 4-3 thriller at Los Angeles Tennis Center. Freshman Kate Fakih was the last player standing, capping the Bruins' comeback from a 3-2 deficit.

Fakih registered a three-set victory on Court 4 to make the difference. Elise Wagle and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer also earned singles wins for UCLA (9-7, 4-3 in Big Ten play), with the latter knocking off the nation's No. 5 player in the day's marquee match. Wisconsin (14-2, 7-1) had leads of 2-1 and 3-2 after Ellison Reynoldson, Taylor Cataldi and Ariel Johnson prevailed in order.

The third-ranked pair of Fakih/Olivia Center broke the serve of Reynoldson/Ekaterina Ivanova for a 2-1 advantage and rode that to a 6-3 victory on Court 2. A flurry of breaks closed out the Court 3 match between Lutkemeyer/Ahmani Guichard and Cataldi/Tianna Rangan, but the Bruins ultimately collected more of them en route to a 6-4 win – their team-high 11th of dual-match play.

Each side picked up three singles first sets, but momentum would soon shift toward the Badgers. Reynoldson pulled them even with her performance on Court 6, beating Center 6-4, 6-2. A matchup of local products on Court 2 went the way of No. 100 Cataldi (Corona, Calif.), who bested No. 103 Hance (Torrance, Calif.) by a 6-3, 6-3 margin to give Wisconsin its first lead.

UCLA tied the score again behind No. 92 Wagle, who overcame 3-5 and 5-6 second-set tiebreaker deficits to beat Ivanova 6-1, 7-6(6) on Court 3. Wagle has now won four singles matches in a row – all in straight sets.

Wisconsin retook the lead on Court 5, where Johnson dealt Guichard a 7-6(6), 6-3 defeat. With the Bruins trailing 3-2, No. 22 Lutkemeyer alternated big second-set shots with No. 5 Sholokhova, while No. 44 Fakih began her third set with Rangan.

In a match that featured a number of marathon rallies, Lutkemeyer held match point on Court 1. Twenty-four shots followed her serve, with the final one getting past Sholokhova for a 7-5, 7-5 result and the highest-ranked victory of Lutkemeyer's career.

Fakih's third career clincher was her first in a 4-3 match. She closed out the 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 decision on with a break of Rangan that sparked a celebration on Court 4.
 
UCLA returns to action Sunday morning, when it faces Minnesota. First serve from LATC is scheduled for 10 a.m. PT.

Tennis Match Results
Wisconsin vs UCLA
4/5/2025 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)

#24 UCLA 4, #19 Wisconsin 3

Singles competition

1. #22 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. #5 Maria Sholokhova (WIS) 7-5, 7-5
2. #100 Taylor Cataldi (WIS) def. #103 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) 6-3, 6-3
3. #92 Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. Ekaterina Ivanova (WIS) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
4. #44 Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. Tianna Rangan (WIS) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
5. Ariel Johnson (WIS) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) 7-6 (8-6), 6-3
6. Ellison Reynoldson (WIS) def. Olivia Center (UCLA) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #16 Kimmi Hance/Elise Wagle (UCLA) vs. #86 Ariel Johnson/Maria Sholokhova (WIS) 4-5, unfinished
2. #3 Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA) def. Ekaterina Ivanova/Ellison Reynoldson (WIS) 6-3
3. Ahmani Guichard/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Taylor Cataldi/Tianna Rangan (WIS) 6-4

Match Notes:
Wisconsin 14-2; National ranking #19
UCLA 9-7; National ranking #24
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3); Singles (6,2,3,5,1,4)

Team Stats

#1 Doubles Match

12
Ariel Johnson/ Maria Sholokhova (86/-) [WIS]
50
LogoHance, Kimmi/ Wagle, Elise (16/-) [UCLA]
4UF

#2 Doubles Match

1
Ekaterina Ivanova/ Ellison Reynoldson [WIS]
3
6

#3 Doubles Match

1
Taylor Cataldi/ Tianna Rangan [WIS]
4
6

Order of Finish:

2,3

#1 Singles Match

12
Maria Sholokhova / 0 (5/-) [WIS]
55
LogoLutkemeyer, Anne-Christine / 0 (22/-) [UCLA]
77

#2 Singles Match

12
Taylor Cataldi / 0 (100/-) [WIS]
66
LogoHance, Kimmi / 0 (103/-) [UCLA]
33

#3 Singles Match

12
Ekaterina Ivanova / 0 [WIS]
16
LogoWagle, Elise / 0 (92/-) [UCLA]
67

#4 Singles Match

123
Tianna Rangan / 0 [WIS]
463
LogoFakih, Kate / 0 (44/-) [UCLA]
636

#5 Singles Match

12
Ariel Johnson / 0 [WIS]
76
LogoGuichard, Ahmani / 0 [UCLA]
63

#6 Singles Match

12
Ellison Reynoldson / 0 [WIS]
66
LogoCenter, Olivia / 0 [UCLA]
42

Order of Finish:

6,2,3,5,1,4

Players Mentioned

/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
/ Women's Tennis
UCLA W. Tennis Postmatch - Olivia Center & Kate Fakih (Nov. 23, 2024)
Sunday, November 24
Media Availability - Coach Sampras Webster (May 15, 2024)
Thursday, May 16
NCAA First and Second Rounds
Friday, May 03
Postmatch Interviews: Fangran Tian/Rance Brown (May 27, 2023)
Saturday, May 27