Women’s tennis ready for home matches in three days

The No. 31 UCLA women’s tennis team (6-5, 1-3 Pac-12) continues its March-April stretch with home matches on three consecutive days, starting Thursday at 12 noon PT against UC Santa Barbara (2-11, 2-1 Big West). A return to conference play follows when the Bruins host Colorado (9-6, 0-3) on Friday at 1:30 p.m., and No. 59 Utah (10-6, 1-2) on Saturday at 12 p.m.

FOLLOW LIVE

Fans unable to attend UCLA women’s tennis home matches in person can still watch the live stream. Live streaming and live scores are available for all matches played at the Los Angeles Tennis Center HERE.

THE LAST TIME

UCLA got off on the right foot, but ultimately fell to No. 18 Stanford with a 5-2 conference decision Sunday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The Bruins earned a double point and Fangran Tian added the win after sealing the overall decision. Alexis Blokhina picked up the win for the Cardinal to complete a two-hit day.

UCLA vs. UC SANTA BARBARA, COLORADO AND UTAH

UCLA is 36-0 against UC Santa Barbara. The programs last met on Feb. 4, 2022, when the Bruins dropped just eight games in five matches to go 4-0 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Vanessa Ong won the team and supported the efforts Abbey Forbes and Sasha Vagramov. UCLA is 11-0 against Colorado with a 7-0 win at LATC on March 4, 2022. Vagramov sealed the victory for the Bruins, who dropped just one run on the day. Forbes and Wagle edged Vagramov’s decider with wins of their own. UCLA is 20-0 when it faces Utah. The Bruins won 4-0 on March 6, 2022, with Vagramov again delivering the win. Wagle and Kimmy Hance also singles wins. The Utes forced a tiebreaker in the deciding doubles match, but couldn’t break through for a point.

REVIEW OF GAUCHOS, BUFFALO AND UTES

UC Santa Barbara has a 2-11 record with both of its wins coming in Big West play (2-1). Amelia Honer of the Gauchos is listed at No. 61 in the ITA National Singles Ranking, while the combination of Honer and Kira Reuter is ranked No. 24 in doubles. Colorado is 9-6 (0-3 in Pac-12 play), while Utah is 10-6 (1-2). The Utes are ranked 59th in the ITA ranking.

to TI-AN
Fangran Tian has recorded wins in nine straight singles decisions to start her dual career. The freshman from Beijing, China has missed one match. Five of those wins have come against nationally ranked players: No. 28 Angelica Blake of Stanford (6-1, 1-6, 6-4 March 26), No. 4 Madison Sieg of USC (6-3, 1). -0, retired March 16), No. 20 Irina Cantos Siemers of Ohio State (6-4, 3-6, 6-1 March 12), No. 100 Hikaru Sato of Washington (4-6, 6-4) , 6 -3 March 3) and No. 57 Thasaporn Naklo of Iowa State (6-1, 6-2 Jan. 28). Tian is 17-5 in singles play and is 9-4 against nationally ranked foes.

HANCE NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK 13.-19.3.
Kimmy Hance was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week for the week of 13-19. March, the conference announced on March 21. The visiting Bruins beat crosstown rival USC 4-1 (March 16) thanks in large part to Hance’s victories against nationally ranked opponents. on the doubles and singles courts. A sophomore combination of Hance and Elise Wagle made a statement out of the gate in doubles, giving UCLA a leg up with a 6-2 showing over No. 24 Naomi Cheong and Snow Han in the top court. Hance then dispatched No. 61 Han 6-2, 6-3 on the second singles court to extend the Bruins’ lead to 3-1. The team’s win was UCLA’s third in a row and fifth in six attempts. The Pac-12 Player of the Week award represents the first of Hance’s career and the second for the Bruins in as many weeks. Sasha Vagramov was honored during the week of 6-12 March. UCLA now has 38 all-time weekly honors in the conference.

IN FRANCE

UCLA is ranked No. 31 in the latest ITA Computerized Team Rankings, released Tuesday. The latest ITA national singles and doubles rankings came out March 21, and they feature four Bruins. The pioneer of the singles list is Fangran Tianwho was moved up 40 places from his previous position to a career-best number 23. Kimmy Hance is listed at number 78, while Open Catanzarite checked in at No. 87. Tandem Hance and Elise Wagle equaled its best showing at No. 6 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), Vanessa Ong (at USC), Fangran Tian (vs. rice), Sasha Vagramov (Ohio State) and Elise Wagle (Washington State) each have one win this season.

VAGRAMOV NAMED PAC-12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK 3.6-12.

In his team’s 4-3 win against Ohio State, Sasha Vagramov was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week in the March 14 conference announcement. The prize was awarded for 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. Vagramov was previously named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on February 11, 2020.

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?
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 494-183 (.730). 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.