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Women’s tennis’ Annette Goulak takes home doubles, singles titles

Junior Annette Goulak – who transferred from Georgia – took home both the singles and doubles championships at the Jack Kramer Club Collegiate Tournament. She won the doubles with fellow Bruin, freshman Sasha Vagramov, as the No. 1 seed. (Courtesy of Rikus De Villiers)

By Jason Maikis

Nov. 4, 2019 1:11 p.m.

One Bruin took home two titles this weekend.

Junior Annette Goulak of UCLA women’s tennis won the singles championship at the Jack Kramer Club Collegiate Tournament on Sunday. In her first match of the day, Goulak defeated Baylor’s Anastasia Kharitonova 7-5, 6-3 in the singles final.

She teamed up with freshman Sasha Vagramov to take down Arizona’s Khim Iglupas and Gitte Heynemans 8-1 in the doubles final to clinch the title.

Goulak – a Georgia transfer – defeated another Baylor Bear, No. 2 seed Angelina Shakhraichuk, in the quarterfinal by a score of 6-4, 7-6. She ran through the entire bracket without losing a set, only playing two tiebreaks.

The Oak Park, California, native said her experience playing on the other side of the country has helped her combat players from multiple schools in a single tournament.

“In my time at Georgia, I played a bunch of different girls from a ton of different schools,” Goulak said. “I think it exposed me to a lot of new things I could use.”

Goulak and Vagramov also won the doubles title, losing only eight games over their four matches. The pair had their longest match – 13 games – in the quarterfinal against the Baylor duo of Paula Baranano and Jessica Hinojosa.

In their third 8-1 victory to clinch the championship, the No. 1-seeded Bruins defeated Arizona’s Heynemans and Iglupas.

Coach Stella Sampras Webster said the competitive play in tournaments and practice has raised the level of play for the entire team.

“We’re all about developing and practicing to make our games better right now,” Sampras Webster said. “Everybody has been pretty excited because our practices have been competitive and pushing our players to get better. To see them being tested and challenged, but still performing at such a high level, is really encouraging.”

Vagramov recorded three consecutive straight-set victories in the singles tournament before her campaign ended with a 7-6, 6-4 defeat to Goulak in the semifinals.

No. 4-seeded Vagramov previously had a 2-4 record in singles this season, while No. 5-seeded Goulak had a 5-2 showing along with a semifinal appearance at the Women’s Collegiate Invitational that ran Oct. 3 through Oct. 6.

Vagramov said she’s been trying to play as many matches as possible to acclimate and adapt to different formats and playing styles.

“One of the biggest things for me is getting used to college tennis format coming from playing (International Tennis Federation),” Vagramov said. “I’m doing a better job and getting used to that, and playing a variety of players has really boosted my game.”

Junior Abi Altick also came in as the No. 3 seed but lost in a three-set 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinal contest to Hinojosa. Sophomore Taylor Johnson entered as the only unseeded Bruin, playing a round-of-64 match and winning it 6-0, 6-2. She lost her next match to Kharitonova 6-3, 7-5.

The Bruins’ final time to play this fall is the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships, where six Bruins will be participating from Wednesday through Sunday.

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Jason Maikis | Alumnus
Maikis joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2018 and contributed until 2019. He was an assistant Sports editor in 2019 and contributed for the football, men's basketball, men's tennis, women's tennis and men's water polo beats.
Maikis joined the Bruin as a freshman in 2018 and contributed until 2019. He was an assistant Sports editor in 2019 and contributed for the football, men's basketball, men's tennis, women's tennis and men's water polo beats.
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