UCLA women’s tennis had their work cut out for them this weekend – it was the team’s longest road trip of the season and the matches against Colorado and Utah were at high elevation.
The No. 20 Bruins downed the Buffaloes and Utes in convincing fashion with a 6-1 victory Friday and a 4-2 victory Sunday, respectively. The team continues their successful streak against their mountainous Pac-12 opponents – having outscored them 30-6 with a 6-0 record against the pair since they joined the conference in 2011.
Against Colorado, UCLA started off strong and didn’t look back. Victories on courts two and three, areas of trouble this season, clinched the doubles point without the help of the Bruins’ No. 7 doubles pair – seniors Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips.
Sophomore Maia Magill made her way back into the lineup as she was paired with freshman Alaina Miller on court three doubles.
Success continued into singles play as well, with the Bruins taking five of the six matches. No. 18 Harrison defeated No. 74 Nuria Ormeno Ruiz in dominating fashion with a score of 6-0, 6-1.
Doubles play continued to be strong against Utah, as victories on courts one and two got the squad off to a fast start. The success may have been in part to new lineups – Harrison was paired with sophomore Kristin Wiley while McPhillips shared the court with sophomore Terri Fleming.
The Bruins clinched the victory with singles victories and courts one, two and four. Miller continued her impressive freshman start as she came back to defeat Utah’s Jena Chang 1-6, 6-0, 6-0.
With this pair of victories, UCLA is positioning itself well to receive one of the 16 spots to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in May. A move higher into the top-20 ranked teams in the nation would help solidify their chances.
The team returns to Los Angeles Tennis Center this weekend to face off against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Friday afternoon and a senior day match with the Arizona Wildcats Saturday at noon.
Email Ayyalasomayajula at iayyalasomayajula@media.ucla.edu.