Women's Tennis Shuts Out Washington in Top-25 Matchup

LOS ANGELES – The 19th-ranked UCLA women's tennis team celebrated head coach Stella Sampras Webster's birthday with a 4-0 victory against No. 25 Washington Saturday afternoon at Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Freshman Bianca Fernandez picked up her first career clinching singles win. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Tian Fangran were also triumphant for the Bruins (7-3, 2-0 Pac-12), who won their fifth consecutive match. The Huskies (10-6, 0-2) forced doubles play to go the distance and secured three singles sets in incomplete contests, but could not get on the scoreboard.

The tandem of Hance and Lutkemeyer turned in its third victory in a row – and first against a nationally-ranked opponent – to get UCLA started in doubles play. After trading breaks of serve with No. 55 Alexia Jacobs and Astrid Olsen early, the Bruins added two more for 3-1 and the final score of 6-2. UW's Catherine Gagnon and Melissa Sakar jumped out to a 3-0 lead on Court 3 before Ahmani Guichard and Sasha Vagramov cut their deficit to 3-4. The Huskies would close out the match by taking the final two games, however, turning all eyes toward Court 2.

Tian and Elise Wagle earned the first break of their match with Dariya Detkovskaya and Erika Matsuda for 3-2 and added another two games later. Detkovskaya/Matsuda responded with one of its own, but it was too little, too late, as Tian and Wagle held serve for a 6-4 result.

UCLA secured five first sets, with No. 62 Tian last to finish on Court 1. She was first off her court, however, racing past Matsuda in the second set for a 6-2, 6-0 win. Next to finish was Lutkemeyer, who took down Gagnon by a 6-3, 6-3 margin on Court 5 to equal Tian with her own two-win day.

No. 65 Fernandez completed the sweep, outlasting Olsen 6-3, 6-4 on Court 3. Fernandez and Tian have each won five matches in a row to coincide with their team's winning streak.

The Bruins will look to continue their winning streak Friday, March 15, when Arizona State comes to LATC. First serve is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. PT.

Tennis Match Results
Washington vs UCLA
3/9/2024 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)

#19 UCLA 4, #25 Washington 0

Singles competition
1. #62 Tian Fangran (UCLA) def. Erika Matsuda (WASH) 6-4, 6-1
2. #91 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) vs. #67 Alexia Jacobs (WASH) 6-3, 5-7, unfinished
3. #65 Bianca Fernandez (UCLA) def. Astrid Olsen (WASH) 6-3, 6-4
4. Elise Wagle (UCLA) vs. Melissa Sakar (WASH) 2-6, 4-4, unfinished
5. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Catherine Gagnon (WASH) 6-3, 6-3
6. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) vs. Dariya Detkovskaya (WASH) 6-3, 0-6, 0-4, unfinished

Doubles competition
1. Kimmi Hance/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. #55 Alexia Jacobs/Astrid Olsen (WASH) 6-2
2. Tian Fangran/Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. Dariya Detkovskaya/Erika Matsuda (WASH) 6-4
3. Catherine Gagnon/Melissa Sakar (WASH) def. #66 Ahmani Guichard/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 6-3

Match Notes:
Washington 10-6; National ranking #25
UCLA 7-3; National ranking #19
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,5,3)