LOS ANGELES – The No. 24 UCLA women’s tennis team, behind the heroics of Fangran Tian, defeated No. 5 Pepperdine 4-3 in a marathon match Wednesday afternoon at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
With all eyes on the top court, Tian defeated Janice Tjen in a three-set battle of top-20-ranked singles players. Also victorious for the Bruins (10-6, 4-4 Pac-12) in singles play were Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Elise Wagle. Each of the three also had a hand in securing the doubles point. The Waves (13-3, 4-0 WCC) led 3-2 thanks to singles wins by Savannah Broadus, Nikki Redelijk and Lisa Zaar. The non-conference contest took over four hours to complete.
UCLA started strong in doubles play, with its pairs on Courts 1 and 3 each logging two breaks of serve out of the gate for a 3-0 lead. First to finish was the bottom court, where Lutkemeyer and Tian teamed to pick up their fifth victory in as many tries by taking six of seven games against Redelijk and Anna Campana. Then, for the second time this season, No. 6 Wagle and Kimmi Hance took down current No. 1 Broadus and Tjen, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead. Hance and Wagle previously beat Broadus and Tjen, then No. 6, in October’s ITA Southwest Regional Championships doubles final.
Pepperdine secured four singles first sets and quickly established a 2-1 lead following wins by No. 18 Broadus and No. 30 Zaar. Broadus bested Ava Catanzarite 6-2, 6-0 on Court 3, while No. 30 Zaar got the better of No. 106 Hance in a 6-2, 6-1 decision on Court…
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