The Bruins’ season ended in the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.
“(I’m) really proud of my seniors who have led this team,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “(Senior) Ayan Broomfield has such passion and energy, and I know we’ll miss (her). They really came together. They had really good chemistry. They took us as far as we could go.”
No. 7 seed UCLA women’s tennis (21-8) began its NCAA team championship with three straight sweeps over Northern Arizona (15-9), LSU (17-12) and Washington (21-5). In the quarterfinals, UCLA fell to North Carolina (33-2) – a foe it lost to earlier in the season – 4-1.
The Bruins’ season was dealt an early blow during the fall season when reigning Pac-12 Player of the Year and UCLA’s top singles player, Ena Shibahara, informed the team she was electing to turn pro.
The Bruins will further lose three seniors to graduation – Broomfield, Gabby Andrews and Alaina Miller.
The No. 5 ranked doubles pair of Broomfield and Andrews have been playing together since Broomfield transferred from Clemson after her sophomore season. The duo manned the second doubles spot last season, notching an 11-4 dual record.
This year, the pair has been the Bruins’ top doubles team, posting an 8-5 tally on court No. 1 to help UCLA win the doubles point in its last 17 matches.
“We really focused on doubles in practice,” Andrews said. “(Broomfield) and I take pride in knowing that we set the tone for the rest of the match.”
Miller started her UCLA career in 2015-2016 with a 14-6 singles record in dual matches, including a 7-2 mark on court No. 3. Last season, she posted an 18-2 record in dual-match singles, primarily on court No. 6. This year, she played on court four, recording a 12-10 mark in dual singles play.
The Bruins have recruited the No. 2 incoming freshman class, according to the Tennis Recruiting Network. This includes two blue-chip recruits – Alexandra Vagramov from Port Moody, British Columbia, and Abigail Forbes from Raleigh, North Carolina.
UCLA will have last year’s top overall prospect and this year’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, No. 32 Elysia Bolton, returning. Redshirt junior No. 45 Jada Hart, who filled the top singles spot this season, freshman Taylor Johnson and sophomore Abi Altick will join Bolton in the lineup next season.
“(I’m) definitely (going to) try and take a little break after this and then get back to it in the summer,” Altick said.
The Bruins’ team season is over, but four players remain in the NCAA individual championship. Hart advanced to the round of 16 with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over No. 24 Michaela Gordon of Stanford and Bolton defeated No. 28 Bianca Turati of Texas 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Andrews and Broomfield advanced to the doubles second round with a 6-3, 2-6, (10-7) win.
“It’s very hot and humid out here so we’ve got to make sure we keep at the fluids and are eating properly,” said Hart.