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Sasha Vagramov continues to clinch in clutch career for UCLA women’s tennis

Sasha Vagramov of UCLA women’s tennis follows through on a forehand stroke. The senior captain has clinched 16 matches for the Bruins in her career, including team-high totals in 2020 and 2022. (Julia Zhou/Daily Bruin)

By Pooja Kantemneni

May 10, 2023 3:07 p.m.

Winning the deciding match in an NCAA tournament contest is a feat few collegiate tennis players will ever accomplish. Doing it in back-to-back fashion is almost unheard of.

But that’s what Sasha Vagramov did last weekend.

After knocking out Texas Tech with her 6-4, 6-3 victory over Metka Komac on Friday, the UCLA women’s tennis senior had the opportunity to repeat the feat against No. 6 seed Duke’s Iuliia Bryzgalova. With the teams tied 3-3 and Vagramov facing a 3-0 hole in the tiebreaker of her second set, she delivered. She won eight of the next 11 points to push the Bruins over the top and into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament.

To the unfamiliar eye, it might’ve seemed like a one-time, wish-upon-a-star type of situation. But Vagramov has done the same time and again in her Bruin career.

In her junior campaign, she clinched a team-high four matches. She’s repeated that number this year, wrecking two top-10 teams in the process.

“I definitely thrive in those high-pressure situations,” Vagramov said. “I like everyone’s eyes on me in those moments.”

Eyes have been on Vagramov since her first clinch of the season, which came against then-No. 4 Ohio State on March 12. UCLA held the No. 64 spot in the ITA team rankings, its lowest mark of the season, and was barely above .500. And to make matters worse, Vagramov had lost five of her previous seven singles matches leading into the Buckeye battle.

As it turned out, neither mattered. Vagramov won her first set against Isabelle Boulais 6-3 but succumbed 6-2 in the second. She stormed back and won the third set 6-4 to put the final touches on UCLA’s first ranked victory of the season.

Coach Stella Sampras Webster said Vagramov’s confidence in her recent clinches can be traced back to her clutch moment against the Buckeyes.

“The Ohio State match really gave her a lot of confidence,” Sampras Webster said. “Being in those situations, that’s what you want for a season, so when it comes down to the NCAAs, it’s a norm.”

Despite playing in three different doubles pairings this season, Vagramov has clinched five doubles points, the third most on the team. She’s won two singles matches this year after losing the first or second set and has a 3-2 record in tiebreakers.

Sophomore Kimmi Hance attributed Vagramov’s success to her poise under pressure.

“Watching Sasha is so fun because she really just full-sends it. You have to really enjoy the moment, or else you’re going to get tight,” Hance said. “She was so relaxed and she was swinging really free.”

Vagramov has now kept UCLA’s season alive twice this year and may end up with the chance to prolong that streak Friday against No. 11 seed Iowa State. And beyond what she’s proven on the court, a significant part of the captain’s leadership takes place off the court.

So what advice does Vagramov bestow upon her teammates before a do-or-die match?

“I was telling the girls to play fearless,” Vagramov said. “Go out there and believe in yourself.”

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