Women’s tennis duo narrowly miss national championship title
Redshirt Freshman Jada Hart (right) and freshman Ena Shibahara made it to the last round of USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships before losing to Kentucky. (Creative Commons photos by si.robi via Wikimedia Commons)
By Luke Zianno
Nov. 6, 2016 10:52 p.m.
Jada Hart and Ena Shibahara almost had another national championship.
As teammates in women’s doubles, redshirt freshman Hart and freshman Shibahara suffered a 6-3, 6-4 defeat Sunday to Kentucky in the finals match of the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.
“We fought for every point. It was tough,” Shibahara said.
The Bruins began their tournament play strong and, after beating Oklahoma State in two sets during the semifinal round, advanced to the finals.
Playing in Flushing, New York, the two earned themselves a first round bye, facing Columbia in the second round. Hart and Shibahara said they did not perform at their best at the beginning, but they strengthened their game the more they played.
“We improved our game as a whole as the tournament continued,” Hart said. “We became more comfortable.
Defeating Columbia 6-0, 6-4 and Alabama 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, before meeting Oklahoma State in the semifinal with a 6-3, 6-3 victory, UCLA was on a potential championship run. Hart and Shibahara’s chance at at a title was in reach.
“Overall, I felt our communication needed improvement, but got better as matches went on,” Shibahara said. “I thought we played well.”
Shibahara also competed in the singles tournament. Ranked as the second seed, her chances at a championship quickly slipped away after being upset by Baylor’s Blair Shankle 7-5, 6-3, 6-3 in the second round.
Although they came up short in this tournament, Hart and Shibahara look forward to the upcoming dual matches.
“I’m looking forward to playing Kentucky again. … We will play all these guys again,” Hart said. “The main thing will be to prepare for executing what we want to.”
After finishing an October loaded with two separate tournaments – the Oracle ITA Masters and the ITA Regional Championships – the pair of freshman will have to wait until winter quarter before its next challenge.
UCLA will continue its season at the National Collegiate Championships Jan. 13 to Jan. 15.
