| Women’s Tennis |
|---|
| SDSU — 3 |
| UCLA — 4 |
No. 18 UCLA women’s tennis (17-7, 9-4 Big Ten) edged San Diego State (21-4, 8-1 Mountain West) 4-3, Friday afternoon at the Whiteman Tennis Center in Tempe, Arizona, advancing past the first round of the NCAA Championship.
The Bruins showed fight in doubles but ultimately fell short. Freshman Kayla Chung and junior Ahmani Guichard battled but dropped their match 7-5. On court one, the sophomore duo of Kate Fakih and Olivia Center pushed to a tiebreak but came up just short, losing 7-6 (7-3).
UCLA needed a response in singles.
Freshman Mayu Crossley delivered, earning the Bruins’ first point with a commanding 6-3, 6-0 win.
Momentum briefly shifted. Senior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer fell in a tight 7-5 first set and lost the second 6-3. Fakih followed with a similar result, dropping a close first set 7-5 before being shut out 6-0.
The Bruins were suddenly trailing and running out of room.
Guichard stepped up when UCLA needed her most. She took the first set 6-1, dropped the second 6-3, then battled through a 7-5 final set to keep the Bruins within one.
UCLA still trailed 3-2.
All attention turned to courts four and five, both heading into decisive third sets.
On court four, junior Bianca Fernandez found her rhythm, closing out the match with a 6-2 final set.
On court five, Center was locked in a tight battle early in the third.
But she pulled ahead when it mattered most.
She took the set 6-3.
And with it, the match.
UCLA advances to the second round of the NCAA tournament and will face the winner of Denver and Arizona State on Saturday, May 2 at 12:00 p.m. PT.
