| Women’s Tennis |
|---|
| USC — 1 |
| UCLA — 6 |
“For me this is like, the best day ever.”
Playing in her final USC rivalry match at Los Angeles Tennis Center, senior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer capped off her “best day ever” by taking match point in an extended 7-6 second set, winning the match for the UCLA Bruins in energetic style and celebration.
The No. 5 UCLA Bruins women’s tennis team (6-2) handily defeated crosstown foes No. 8 USC (7-4) on Friday afternoon in front of an eager crowd at Los Angeles Tennis Center by a score of 6-1. Despite a warm February forecast in the upper 80s, the Bruins beat the heat to come out on top. Never in distress, UCLA nabbed the doubles point in two quick sets before winning the first three singles matches, securing a 4-0 lead and guaranteeing a fourth consecutive win.
UCLA continued to play out the remaining three matches, winning two of them to pad the overall lead. On the importance of finishing matches strong despite an established result, head coach Stella Sampras-Webster said, “We’re being tested, so I think it’s important for us to think about the big picture and know that these things are gonna help us finish matches.”
The Bruins quickly took care of business in the doubles round to grab a 1-0 lead. The freshmen duo of Mayu Crossley and Kayla Chung cruised to a 6-2 victory, and the No. 62 duo of sophomore Olivia Center and sophomore Kate Fakih followed with a 6-3 win to secure the doubles point. Fakih and Center settled in after an initial 3-3 split, breaking serve to win the last three games.
No. 49 Crossley added the first singles tally for the Bruins, dispatching Immi Haddad in straight sets 6-2 and 6-4. Junior Bianca Fernandez then stepped up for her own straight sets victory over No. 39 Emma Charney. Lutkemeyer, who played on court one against No. 32 Jana Hossam, stole the first set at 6-3 before her dramatic 7-6 tiebreaker.
No. 122 Fakih lost the only match of the day for UCLA, falling in straight sets to No. 89 Eugenia Zozaya. Fakih was not at 100% physically, as noted by Sampras-Webster, “Something was bugging her so she didn’t play her best, but she tried to compete, she tried to give it her all and she did.”
The whole team gathered around courts five and six to root for junior Ahmani Guichard while they finished off their Trojan rivals, their cheers and celebration highlighted by Guichard flashing the “fight off” sign after her match-winning point.
UCLA will hit the road next to the Midwest to face Wisconsin on Friday, March 6 at 3:00 p.m. PST.
