LOS ANGELES – The No. 19 UCLA Bruins proved to be too strong as they completed a 7-0 victory over Washington State Friday afternoon in the Pac-12 Conference opener for both teams at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. With the loss, the Cougars fall to 8-3, 0-1 on the season, while UCLA improves to 6-3, 1-0.
UCLA jumped out early by taking two doubles matches for the opening point. At No. 3, Sasha Vagramov and Ahmani Guichard, ranked No. 66 nationally, posted a 6-1 win over Hannia Abouelsaad and Martina Markov. At No. 1, Eva Alvarez Sande and Elyse Tse suffered just their second dual match loss of the season as they fell 6-3 to Kimmi Hance and Anna-Christine Lutkemeyer. The match at No. 2 was halted once the point was clinched, with WSU’s Yura Nakagawa and Fifa Kumhom trailing UCLA’s Tian Fangran and Elise Wagle, 5-4.
In singles play, the Bruins posted straight-set wins on the first three completed match to clinch the team victory. At No. 3, Bianca Fernandez, ranked No. 65, defeated Nakagawa, 7-5, 6-2 while Eagle completed a 6-2, 6-2 win over Kumhom at No. 4. Hance, ranked 91st, proved to be the clincher with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Tse at No. 2.
At No. 1, Fangran, ranked 62nd nationally, needed three sets to defeat Alvarez Sande, 6-1, 4-6, 10-5 in a tiebreaker played for the third set with the match already clinched. Markov held late leads in each set before falling to Vagramov, 7-6, 6-3. In the final match at No. 5, Abouelsaad won the first before Guichard rallied to win the second in a tiebreaker then took the third set, 10-7, in a tiebreaker.
The Cougars continue their conference-opening weekend by visiting No. 11 USC Saturday at Marks Stadium. Match time is set for Noon.
WASHINGTON STATE TENNIS
No. 19 UCLA 7 def. Washington State 0
March 8, 2024
Los Angeles Tennis Center
Los Angeles, Calif.
DOUBLES
No. 1 Kimmi Hance/Anna-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-3
No. 2 Yura Nakagawa/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) vs. Tian Fangran/Elise Wagle (UCLA) 4-5 DNF
No. 3 #66 Sasha Vagramov/Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,1
SINGLES
No. 1 #62 Tian Fangran (UCLA) def. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) 6-1, 4-6, 1-0 (10-5)
No. 2 #91 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. Elyse Tse (WSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 #65 Bianca Fernandez (ULA) def. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) 7-5, 6-2
No. 4 Elise Wagle (UCLA) def.
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