UCLA women’s tennis remains undefeated against Colorado, Utah
No. 16 UCLA women’s tennis freshman Elise Wagle prepares to hit the ball in a match at the Los Angeles Tennis Center against USC on Feb. 25. Wagle claimed doubles and singles wins against both Colorado and Utah over the weekend to help the Bruins claim victories in their first conference matches of the season. (Anya Yakimenko/Daily Bruin)
By Amelie Ionescu
March 7, 2022 2:09 p.m.
The Bruins have extended their winning streak to four after a pair of sweeps on the road.
No. 16 UCLA women’s tennis (6-3, 2-0 Pac-12) played its first conference games of the season over the weekend, besting Colorado (4-5, 0-2) by a score of 7-0 in Boulder on Friday and Utah (12-2, 1-1) by a score of 4-0 in Salt Lake City on Sunday.
Freshman Elise Wagle said playing away from home provided a unique challenge for a Bruin team seeking its first wins in Pac-12 play.
“Overall, the conditions were definitely different,” Wagle said. “The altitude was different here (in Utah) than back in California, so playing in Colorado first helped with that. You have to hit with a lot of topspin out here.”
The weekend’s competition marked Wagle’s first official matches away from Southern California since the start of the season. The freshman had to adjust to playing in an indoor arena at a different level of altitude than the Bruins’ usual Los Angeles Tennis Center stomping grounds.
Coach Stella Sampras Webster said the team gained valuable experience from its time playing the mountain schools.
“It’s good that we were tested, and we were fortunate enough to win,” Sampras Webster said. “I think that all these things that we’re experiencing, we want our team to (experience), especially the three freshmen – this is their first time around to really learn from all these experiences.”
Wagle won all four of her matches over the course of the road trip, working with senior Elysia Bolton to acquire the doubles point against both teams, besting Colorado 6-2 and Utah 7-6.
The latter come-from-behind win was the deciding factor in which team got the doubles point after freshman Kimmi Hance and sophomore Vanessa Ong beat their opponent 6-1, and No. 30 freshman Ava Catanzarite and junior Abbey Forbes fell 6-1.
“(Wagle) did a great job of just staying focused and not letting it get too big on her because she and Elysia came through for us after being down,” Sampras Webster said. “Every match is tough, everyone is good, so everyone just needs to be ready and prepared. You can’t depend on anyone to win it.”
With the doubles points in hand for both matches, UCLA also managed to sweep in singles play, dropping one set total against Colorado and three sets against Utah.
No. 115 Forbes – who was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on March 1 – won her match against the Buffaloes in straight sets and was followed by Wagle less than 10 minutes later. Wagle also got the second win Sunday, following No. 111 Hance.
No. 102 junior Sasha Vagramov provided the clinching win for both days, besting her Colorado and Utah opponents in straight sets by scores of 6-4, 6-3, and 6-3, 6-4, respectively.
“I’m just very happy that I was able to bring a win for the team,” Vagramov said. “At the end of the day, for me, it was just about competing the best I can and staying on task and that definitely worked.”
The two wins increase UCLA’s all-time record against Colorado to 10-0 and 11-0 against Utah, maintaining its undefeated record against the mountain schools.
