ORLANDO, Fla. – Freshman Fangran Tian of the UCLA women’s tennis team completed a sparkling run through the 2023 NCAA Championships singles tournament Saturday at the USTA National Campus, defeating Layne Sleeth of Oklahoma 6-4, 6-2 for the second NCAA singles title in program history.
The No. 9-16-seeded Tian joined UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Keri Phebus as the only Bruins to lift the trophy at the season-ending event. En route to the title, Tian won six matches without dropping a single set. She completed her debut college season with a singles record of 30-7, including a 17-6 mark against nationally-ranked opponents.
The NCAA singles championship represents the first in the career of head coach Stella Sampras Webster, who was on staff as an assistant coach under Bill Zaima when Phebus collected hers.
Tian set the tone early Saturday, breaking the serve of Sleeth for a 2-0 first-set lead. Sleeth immediately broke back to put the match back on serve, however, where it would stay until the set’s final game. A pivotal deuce point went the way of Tian for 6-4, preventing Sleeth from extending the set with the ball in her court.
The first break of the second set again came off Tian’s racket, this time for 3-1. Then, not only did Tian consolidate the break, but she added her second break of the set for 5-1. Sleeth did not go down without a fight, breaking back. Tian put a stop to matters there, though, sending a forehand past Sleeth to break once more before running into the arms of volunteer assistant coach Errol Smith.
Tian’s path to the title: No. 60 Thasaporn Naklo (Iowa State) 6-4, 6-4, No. 53 Natasha Subhash (Virginia) 6-4, 6-0, No. 29 Alexandra Yepifanova (Stanford) 7-5, 6-3, No. 36 Kari Miller (Michigan) 6-4, 6-2, No. 11 Maddy Sieg (USC) 6-3, 6-2 and No. 50 Layne Sleeth (Oklahoma) 6-4, 6-2.
UCLA WOMEN’S TENNIS NCAA SINGLES CHAMPIONS
1995 – Keri Phebus
2023 – Fangran Tian
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Fangran Tian does not drop a single set in Orlando, completing her freshman season atop #NCAATennis.#GoBruins | #ChampionsMadeHere pic.twitter.com/DRRA3EQe2Q
— UCLA Women’s Tennis (@uclawtennis) May 27, 2023
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