AMES, Iowa – The UCLA women’s tennis team had its season come to a close Friday afternoon, as it fell to No. 11-seed Iowa State 4-1 in the super-regional stage of the NCAA Championships at Ames High Tennis Complex.
The Bruins (15-8), who won at No. 6-seed Duke to reach the tournament’s third round, got a win from Ava Catanzarite to trim their deficit to 2-1. The Cyclones advanced to the quarterfinals in Orlando, Fla. behind the doubles point and singles victories from Ange Oby Kajuru, Thasaporn Naklo and clincher Sofia Cabezas.
The teams traded 6-0 performances in doubles play, starting when Iowa State’s Kajuru and Xinyi Nong topped Catanzarite and Sasha Vagramov on Court 2. UCLA’s Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle, ranked seventh in the country, answered against No. 54 Naklo and Anna Supapitch Kuearum on the top court. A 6-2 showing by Cabezas and Miska Kadleckova versus Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer and Fangran Tian on Court 3 steered the point in favor of the Cyclones.
Iowa State increased its lead to 2-0 on Court 2, where No. 66 Kajuru bested No. 112 Hance 6-4, 6-1. Catanzarite answered for the Bruins, defeating Kadleckova by a 6-4, 7-5 margin on Court 3. Catanzarite had her serve broken at 5-4, but fought back to take the final two games.
The top-court matchup went the way of No. 60 Naklo, who overcame No. 14 Tian 7-6(3), 6-0. Cabezas then closed out the team win on Court 5, getting past Vagramov in a 6-2, 7-5 decision. Lutkemeyer led her Court 6 match with Chie Kezuka 7-6(4), 2-1 when the result was finalized. Wagle and Kuearum were knotted at 2-2 in their third set on Court 4.
Hance, Tian and Wagle still have tennis to play at the NCAA Championships, as each is bound for the individual tournaments. Tian is seeded 9-16 in the singles draw, while the combination of Hance and Wagle is 5-8 in the doubles field. The singles and doubles matches will be played from May 22-27 at the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Iowa State
5/12/2023 at Ames, IA
(Ames High Tennis Complex)
#12 Iowa State 4, #20 UCLA 1
Singles competition
1. #60 Thasaporn Naklo (ISU) def. #14 Fangran Tian (UCLA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-0
2. #66 Ange Oby Kajuru (ISU) def. #112 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) 6-4, 6-1
3. Ava Catanzarite (UCLA) def. Miska Kadleckova (ISU) 6-4, 7-5
4. A….
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at UCLA…