CHENGDU, China – Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle of the UCLA women’s tennis team completed their FISU World University Games debuts Saturday on the medal stand, as the pair claimed bronze at the Sichuan International Tennis Center.
Hance and Wagle represented the United States of America alongside Callaway Clark, Louis Cloud and Liam Krall of SMU men’s tennis, as well as Taylor Johnson, who has starred for both programs on the women’s side. UCLA women’s tennis associate head coach Rance Brown guided the group and was aided by SMU assistant athletic trainer Hannah Letow.
Seeded eighth, the tandem of Hance and Wagle received a first-round bye. The pair earned its initial win emphatically, handing Amy Stevens and Alexandra Weir of Australia a 6-3, 6-1 defeat to reach the quarterfinal round. There, the Bruins took down the third-seeded duo of Thailand’s Punnin Kovapitukted and Lanlana Tararudee 7-5, 6-2. Hance and Wagle had their run come to an end in the semifinals, as they were felled by No. 1 seed and eventual champions En-shuo Liang and Fang-hsien Wu of Taiwan 6-2, 6-2.
Wagle and Clark teamed up in mixed doubles play, advancing to the quarterfinals. Following a first-round bye, the cross-program combination upset No. 7 seed Sravya Chilakalapudi/Oges Theyjo Jaya Prakash of India 6-4, 6-2. Wagle and Clark were ultimately topped by the top-seeded team of Wu and Yu-hsiou Hsu, which took the top prize, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals.
Hance, the women’s singles No. 14 seed, downed Fadona Kusumawati of Indonesia 6-4, 6-0 after a first-round bye. The third-seeded Ya-yi Yang of Chinese Taipei eliminated Hance 6-2, 6-0 the next time out on her way to a silver-medal finish.
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