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Women’s tennis continues conference streak with 4-1 win over Oregon

For only the second time this season, graduate student Jada Hart won her singles match without giving up a game, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-0 in No. 10 UCLA women’s tennis’ victory over Oregon. (Antonio Martinez/Daily Bruin)

women's tennis


No. 10 UCLA4
Oregon1

By Olivia Simons

March 29, 2021 12:10 p.m.

The Bruins picked up their fifth consecutive conference win despite an early deficit.

No. 10 UCLA women’s tennis (11-3, 5-0 Pac 12) defeated Oregon (11-4, 4-2) by a score of 4-1 at Oregon’s Student Tennis Center on Sunday, maintaining its undefeated run in conference matches and handing the Ducks their first home loss of the season. The Bruins – who had not played Oregon in two years – took the only match between the two teams this season, giving them a 25-1 advantage in their all-time record.

“Oregon’s a very good team – they just beat USC – and so we knew that they were going to be tough,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “We’ve got to be ready for them to play their best tennis against us and not panic, and I think we did a good job today.”

To start the match, UCLA could not secure the doubles point despite holding a 11-3 doubles-point record this season.

Seniors Annette Goulak and Vivian Wolff – who are 10-2 in doubles on the season –finished their doubles match first, losing to Oregon’s Lillian Mould and Janice Tjen 6-2. Senior Abi Altick and junior Taylor Johnson fell to Julia Eshet and Allison Mulville 6-4, granting the Ducks the opening point of the match.

“(Losing the doubles point) was definitely not something we were anticipating,” said graduate student Jada Hart. “We prefer to just have three singles matches to deal with, but I think everyone reacted well from losing the doubles point.”

Playing in the number one court spot in singles for the Bruins was No. 8 sophomore Abbey Forbes, winning her eighth straight singles match and her 11th this year. Forbes beat Tjen 6-3, 6-1, giving the Bruins their first match point to tie up the score 1-1.

Goulak finished second in singles, beating Mulville 6-2, 6-1 to give UCLA an advantage in the match.

Hart won her singles match as well, securing a win over Mould 6-4, 6-0, marking only the second time this season Hart has won a set without conceding a game. The win comes after a 6-0, 7-6 (7-3) victory versus Utah and a 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 4-6 loss at Pepperdine.

Hart finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in singles in those contests, but finished third Sunday.

“Getting off the court pretty quickly is always really helpful, not only for me mentally but physically as well,” Hart said. “So it’s nice to be able to have that match today as compared to Pepperdine – (when) I was the last person to play – so it’s nice to be one of the first three off.”

Wolff then defeated Uxia Martinez Moral 6-3, 7-5, earning the clinching point for the Bruins. Wolff also earned the fourth point for UCLA in its last match against Colorado, giving her her second clinching point as a Bruin.

The match clincher was Wolff’s third consecutive straight-set singles win after winning only two of her first nine singles matches this season. The senior said working on her positioning and forehand have aided in her recent singles success.

“In practice I’ve been working on staying low and moving my feet and using my forehand more,” Wolff said. “I’ve been doing that in my past three singles matches and I feel like girls struggle with my heavy spin. I look for a short ball and I put it away and it’s worked out.”

UCLA’s next contests will both take place in the Grand Canyon State, as they will take on Arizona State and Arizona this weekend for their final two road matches of the season.

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Olivia Simons | Quad editor
Simons is the 2023-2024 Quad editor. She was previously the 2022-2023 managing editor, an assistant Sports editor on the baseball, women's tennis, men's tennis, swim and dive and rowing beats and a reporter on the baseball and women's tennis beats. She is also a fourth-year student from Oakland, California.
Simons is the 2023-2024 Quad editor. She was previously the 2022-2023 managing editor, an assistant Sports editor on the baseball, women's tennis, men's tennis, swim and dive and rowing beats and a reporter on the baseball and women's tennis beats. She is also a fourth-year student from Oakland, California.
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