CARY, N.C. – UCLA women’s tennis on Tuesday concluded its time at the ITA All-American Championships, the team’s official start to 2026-27. Six Bruins were in action at Cary Tennis Park.
Ahmani Guichard, named Big Ten Player of the Week Wednesday, was UCLA’s standout performer. She nearly reached the singles main draw after starting her time in prequalifying. The senior earned one ranked singles win and added another in doubles play alongside Olivia Center.
Guichard was joined by Center, Kayla Chung and newcomers Jessica Bernales and Polina Marakhtanova in singles qualifying. Bernales and Center each secured a three-set win and Guichard rolled to victory. Guichard kept her run going following a retirement in Round 2, taking down Jana Stojanova of South Carolina 6-3, 6-0 for a spot in qualifying.
Joined in qualifying by No. 102 Kate Fakih, Guichard prevailed again. This time, the Seminole, Fla. native took down 73rd-ranked Alice Ferlito in a marathon, 6-2, 6-7(4), 7-5 decision. With a spot in the main draw up for grabs, Guichard fell to Mississippi State’s Gianna Oboniye.
Marakhtanova picked up her first win as a Bruin in the singles prequalifying consolation draw. The Albany, Calif. native downed Ece Gencer of Purdue 6-4, 6-4.
The Bruins also sent pairs Bernales/Fakih and Center/Guichard into doubles qualifying. Both pairs were eliminated from play in the first round, but Center/Guichard had a chance to bounce back in a ranked consolation match. The 45th-ranked UCLA tandem was taken to its limit by No. 54 Bella Bergqvist Larsson/Kaitlyn Carnicella of South Carolina, but ultimately prevailed by a 2-6, 7-6(4), 1-0(11) margin.
The Bruins continue their fall schedule Thursday at the USTA SoCal Intercollegiate Championships. Ron Rugara will represent UCLA at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center in San Diego, with matches set to continue through Sunday.
Tennis Tournament Results
ITA All-American Championships
9/19-9/27/2026 at Cary, NC (Cary Tennis Park)
Singles competition
Prequalifying
pq1 Havana Kadi (Texas Tech) def. Kayla Chung (UCLA) 6-1, 6-3
pq1 Jessica Bernales (UCLA) def. Alice Xu (Illinois) 7-5, 2-6, 6-4
pq1 Olivia Center (UCLA) def. Indiya McLeod (Pacific) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4
pq1 Jasmine Conway (NC State) def. Polina Marakhtanova (UCLA) 5-7, 6-3, 7-5
pq1 Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. Willow Renton (Quinnipiac) 6-2, 6-1
pq2 Roisin Gilheany (NC State) def. Jessica Bernales (UCLA) 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-2
pq2 Laura Brunkel (Oklahoma) def. Olivia Center (UCLA) 6-3, 7-5
pq2 Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. Dora Miskovic (LSU) 4-6, 0-1, retired
pq3 Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. Jana Stojanova (South Carolina) 6-3, 6-0
Prequalifying Consolation
Azu Ichioka (San Diego State) def. Kayla Chung (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
Polina Marakhtanova (UCLA) def. Ece Gencer (Purdue) 6-4, 6-4
Qualifying
q1 Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. #73 Alice Ferlito (Princeton) 6-2, 6-7 (4-7), 7-5
q1 Jasmine Conway (NC State) def. #102 Kate Fakih (UCLA) 6-4, 1-6, 6-2
q2 Gianna Oboniye (Mississippi State) def. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
Qualifying
q1 Alice Ferlito/Madeleine Jessup (Princeton) def. #35 Jessica Bernales/Kate Fakih (UCLA) 6-3, 7-5
q1 Gianna Oboniye/Athina Pitta (Mississippi State) def. #45 Olivia Center/Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) 5-7, 6-1, 1-0 (10-3)
Qualifying Consolation
#45 Olivia Center/Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. #54 B. Bergqvist Larsson/Kaitlyn Carnicella (South Carolina) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 1-0 (13-11)