LOS ANGELES – Kate Fakih of UCLA women’s tennis will make her second career appearance at the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships after logging a semifinal-round finish in singles at the ITA West Sectional Championship. USC hosted the event at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium.
Also participating across town were Bruins Kayla Chung, Mayu Crossley, Ahmani Guichard, Polina Marakhtanova and Rona Rugara. UCLA also sent Jessica Bernales and Olivia Center to the ITA Conference Masters Championships in Rome, Ga. Fakih was the only singles participant of the group.
Needing to win three singles matches to punch her ticket, the 102nd-ranked and top-seeded Fakih did just that. She accomplished the feat without dropping a set, taking down Karolina Kozakova of Washington, 70th-ranked Chantal Sauvant of Pepperdine and Emily Deming of San Diego in order. Fakih previously made the NCAA singles draw in 2024.
Fakih also held the No. 1 doubles seed with Crossley, who was making her first appearance of the fall. The pair bested Hinata Furutani/Juliet Santitto of Oregon 6-0, 6-2 before falling to eventual finalist Sara Svetac/Lily Taylor of Arizona State in a 10-point tiebreaker.
Chung/Guichard also picked up a first-round win, beating USC’s Dani Borruel/Lexi Wolf 7-5, 6-4. The Bruin tandem’s stay would end one round later against fifth-ranked and fourth-seeded Alexia Jacobs/Marie Weissheim of Washington. Marakhtanova/Rugara dropped its initial decision, but rebounded to top Alexia Marginean/Carina Syrtveit of Washington in consolation play.
At Conference Masters, second-seeded Bernales/Center fell to North Florida’s Aryana Bartlett/Gabby Goyins in a super tiebreaker to open things. The UCLA duo bounced back emphatically, though, winning all three of its consolation contests in straight sets.
Fakih joins Guichard, who was a finalist at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships, in the NCAA singles field. The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships will be held Nov. 17-22 at Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. Singles begins on Day 1 and doubles on Day 2. Both championship matches are played on the final day.
Kate Fakih (photo by Cary Qian)