Women’s tennis visits crosstown rival USC on Wednesday

Coming off a 4-3 win over No. 4 Ohio State, the UCLA women’s tennis team will next have to beat crosstown rival USC on the road on Wednesday. First serve from David X. Marks Tennis Stadium is scheduled for 5 PM PT. The non-conference game was previously scheduled for February 24 and 27 before being postponed both times due to rain.

FOLLOW LIVE

Fans unable to attend the match at USC’s David X. Marks Tennis Stadium can still watch live. Live streaming and up-to-date results are available HERE.

THE LAST TIME

UCLA picked up a marquee victory Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, defeating No. 4 Ohio State in a 4-3 state thriller. Fangran Tian and Sasha Vagramov. Vagramov sealed the score seconds after Tian pulled the Bruins level. Both matches were three-set matches. UCLA collected a double to take the lead again Open Catanzarite won the day in the second completed race. Shelly Bereznyak, Lucia Marzal and Sydni Ratliff scored for the Buckeyes. The top-five finish is UCLA’s first since Feb. 7, 2021, when it upset No. 5 Pepperdine at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Stillwater, Okla.

UCLA vs. USC

UCLA women’s tennis is 58-52 in its history with USC. In the last meeting (April 15, 2022) No. 15 Bruins made a furious comeback against the No. 19 Trojans, but eventually prevailed 4-3 at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium. The loss was UCLA’s first conference game since April 12, 2019 at Washington State. USC jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Bruins rallied back to tie the game. Salma Ewing took the win in the top field. Elysia Bolton, Kimmy Hance and Vanessa Ong each beat UCLA on the singles court. With a difference of 2-6, 1-5 behind, Bolton recovered to win in three sets. Each of the three doubles matches was closely contested, with a tiebreaker needed on two courts.

THE STUDY OF THE TROJANS

USC is listed at No. 42 in the latest ITA Computerized Team Rankings with a 7-4 record. Individually, four Trojans were recognized in the singles and doubles rankings. Madison Sieg is No. 4 on the singles chart, supported by No. 39 Eryn Cayetano and No. 61 Snow Han. Han and Naomi Cheong form the 24th doubles tandem.

VAGRAMOV NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK

In his team’s 4-3 win against Ohio State, Sasha Vagramov was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week in an announcement made by the conference on Tuesday. The prize was awarded in the week of 6-12. March. Vagramov was on the court as the Bruins secured the first and last points in a thrilling 4-3 win over the Buckeyes Sunday at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. With all eyes on the fourth singles court, the senior won a double point to lift past Isabelle Boulais 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 and get the party started. Vagramov also scored a pair Vanessa Ong defeated Kolie Allen and Danielle Willson 6-4 on Court 3 to win the doubles point. UCLA has amassed 37 all-time weekly honors in the conference. Vagramov has now been on the receiving end of two of them. He was previously voted Pac-12 Player of the Week on February 11, 2020.

IN FRANCE

UCLA rose from No. 64 to No. 32 in the latest ITA Computerized Team Rankings, released Tuesday. The surge came after the Bruins beat No. 4 Ohio State on Sunday. The latest ITA national singles and doubles rankings came out March 7 and have four Bruins. The pioneer of the singles list is Fangran TianNo. 63. Open Catanzarite is listed at number 76, while Kimmy Hance checked in at No. 95. Tandem Hance and Elise Wagle is now ranked No. 10 in doubles, thanks in part to its ITA Southwest Regional Championships title. The pair defeated Pepperdine’s current No. 1 seeds Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen in the finals.

CLINCH BELL
Open Catanzarite (Loyola Marymount), Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (CSUN) and Fangran Tian (vs. rice), Sasha Vagramov (Ohio State) and Elise Wagle (Washington State) each have one win this season.

AUTUMN USE

The Bruins appeared in six events during the fall, including two nationals. There were two championship performances, as Kimmy Hance and Elise Wagle team won the ITA Southwest Regional Championships doubles title in San Diego, while the combo Vanessa Ong and Sasha Vagramov won the top prize at the Dennis Rizza Classic in Rolling Hills Estates, California. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, who was the top singles player at the Women of Troy Invitational, collected a team-high 11 singles wins. Hance, Open Catanzarite and Fangran Tian each defeated three nationally ranked opponents. Hance also reached the singles finals at the ITA Southwest Regionals.

2021-22 REVIEW

The 2021-22 UCLA women’s tennis team went 13-7 and finished second in the Pac-12 with a 7-1 record. The Bruins advanced past Arkansas in the first round of the NCAA Championships, but defeated host Oklahoma State in the second round, 4-2. Elysia Bolton and Abbey Forbes entered the NCAA singles draw, while Bolton’s and Elise Wagle tied the singles match. Bolton advanced to the second round of the singles. Forbes (first team), Bolton (second team) and Kimmy Hance (Honorable Mention) received All-Conference Honorable Mention from the Pac-12. Forbes was also selected as the recipient of the ITA Southwest Region’s Arthur Ashe Leadership & Sportsmanship Award.

WHO’S NEW?

year Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Fangran Tian make up UCLA’s freshman class. Lutkemeyer (Irvine, Calif.), a Blue Chip player according to TennisRecruiting.net, was ranked No. 1 in his class in 2020 and 2021. He won the singles title at the 2021 PTT in Newport Beach, California. Women’s $25,000 Hard. 2 event. At the junior level, Lutkemeyer captured the girls’ 16 singles crown at the 2018 USTA International Spring Championships in Carson, California. Tian (Beijing, China) won the girls’ singles at the 2019 Australian Open Asia-Pacific Wildcard Play-Off. , who earned entry to the 2020 Australian Open Junior Championships. He also earned a spot in the 2019 Roland-Garros Junior Championships singles draw.

BRUINS ON TOUR

Ena Shibahara earned her first Grand Slam title in 2022 by teaming with Wesley Koolhof for the mixed doubles title at Roland-Garros. She also recently played in the first major women’s doubles final with Shuko Aoyama at the 2023 Australian Open. Shibahara rose to a career-best No. 4 in the WTA Doubles Rankings in March 2022. Catherine Harrison was also a standout in 2022, making her Grand Slam debut in singles and doubles. He advanced to Wimbledon singles qualifying and continued his success with a first round victory. Harrison and partner Ulrikke Eikeri appeared in the second round of doubles at Roland-Garros and the pair achieved the same feat at Wimbledon and the US Open. Harrison also collected her first WTA title last year when she partnered with Sabrina Santamaria at the Monterrey Open in Mexico. The following Bruins in the professional ranks achieved a career-high WTA ranking in 2022: Robin Anderson (No. 137 in singles and No. 181 in doubles), Harrison (No. 214 in singles and No. 69 in doubles), Elysia Bolton (230 doubles), Chanelle van Nguyen (350 singles) and Jada Hart (489 doubles).

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER STELLA SAMPRAS WEBSTER

The head coach Stella Sampras Webster is her 27th season at the helm of the UCLA women’s tennis program, posting an impressive overall record of 493-181 (.731). He is UCLA’s second longest tenured active coach behind men’s tennis head coach Billy Martin. Sampras Webster has guided his alma mater to NCAA championships in 2008 and 2014, the first two in program history. His teams have finished in the top ten nationally in 21 of his 25 seasons and in the top five 15 times. Three doubles pairs have won the NCAA Championship under Sampras Webster, most recently Gabby Andrews and Ayan Broomfield in 2019.