This post was updated April 23 at 9:13 p.m.

UCLA women’s tennis (17-4, 9-1 Pac-12) earned the No. 1 seed of the 2024 Pac-12 championships after winning the regular-season title Friday afternoon. The top-seeded Bruins will take on the winner of No. 8 seed Utah (11-10, 3-7) and No. 9 seed Colorado (12-9, 1-8) on Thursday at 12 p.m. Take a look at where the Daily Bruin women’s tennis beat predicts the Bruins will be at tournament’s end.

Olivia Simons
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: Pac-12 tournament champions

Kimmi Hance delivering the final blow against Stanford this year against then-No. 13 Connie Ma was not a fluke.

If the performance is repeatable, however, remains unknown.

The junior, now ranked No. 25, delivered the clincher after over four hours of tennis in a match that required not only talent but incredible stamina. Hance emerged victorious in what may be the same scenario UCLA women’s tennis faces in the final round of the Pac-12 championships, with the score tied 3-3 and two players battling for the win for far longer than any other court. Whether UCLA can outlast Stanford will depend on every Bruin fighting for both the doubles point and efficient singles wins all weekend in Ojai.

All of this is assuming that No. 1 seed UCLA and No. 2 seed Stanford make it to the finals. The Bruins will likely have to face No. 4 seed California on Friday to make it to the championship match, meaning they will have to face the one conference team who beat them this season.

Luckily for the Bruins, junior Elise Wagle, who lost in singles to Cal at the end of March, has made a red-hot comeback at just the right time for UCLA to have enough power to take down the Golden Bears after losing to them 4-3 in late March.

Where Hance clinched the 4-3 win against Stanford this season, Wagle clinched the 4-2 win over USC for the last match of the regular season as well as the 4-3 win over then-No. 7 Pepperdine eight days prior. Both juniors have now proven they have the attitude to endure in difficult situations, and the team has made a massive comeback this season since getting swept back-to-back in nonconference play in February.

And thankfully it’s only conference opponents in Ojai.

Stanford’s own prowess cannot be overlooked. Ma continues to be the best player in the conference at No. 9 in the nation with two of her teammates also ranked in the top 40. But if Hance, Wagle and sophomore Tian Fangran – who has been defeating difficult opponents since she stepped foot in Westwood – can all pull out a win Saturday, plus another win from doubles or singles, it’ll be a record-setting finale to the conference.

Jack Nelson
Daily Bruin senior staff
Prediction: Pac-12 runners-up

Loading up your most formidable adversary with ammunition is an exercise in futility.

Whether they know it or not, the Bruins have already done it.

No. 2 seed Stanford and No. 9 seed Colorado were scheduled to face off March 23, well before the end of conference play, but Northern California downpours nixed that meeting. The conference failed to provide a make-up date, and as a result, No. 1 seed UCLA laid sole claim to the regular-season title.

The Cardinal finished just one game back in the standings, and with head-to-head tiebreakers unconsidered in the trophy-awarding process, they would’ve been co-champions sans the rainout. Not to be forgotten, UCLA is one of just two teams to topple Stanford this season – accompanied only by undefeated national No. 1 Oklahoma State.

There are plenty of reasons for revenge. But it’s not like motivation was needed.

The Pac-12 championships are Stanford’s beloved stomping grounds.

Since its 2017 inception, the conference tournament trophy has been lifted by the Cardinal on five of six occasions, with California serving as the interruption in 2021. The country’s No. 3-ranked team is back-to-back champions and a brutal force when this time of year rolls around.

Coach Lele Forood’s dominion over the conference, and the country, endures. The 24-season Stanford head coach and 10-time NCAA champion has battled UCLA three times in the history of the tournament and won every time, including twice in the title match.

Stanford is a lock to reach championship Saturday. Assuming all goes chalk, UCLA would have to beat Cal – the only team it lost to in conference play – to get there. Considering how the Bruins have excelled in marathon matches as of late, that previous 4-3 loss could easily change.

The Bruins will reach the Pac-12’s fateful final day looking to follow the last-ever regular-season trophy with the ultimate tournament prize.

But the Cardinal are inevitable.

Chloe Agas
Daily Bruin contributor
Prediction: Pac-12 runners-up

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

Junior Elise Wagle clinched the winning point against USC last Friday afternoon en route to securing the Pac-12 regular season title. Only one conference match tally separates first and second.

What happened at the 2023 Pac-12 championships could be equaled, or become the opposite, this year. UCLA is the No. 1 seed in the top half of the draw, and Stanford is slated at No. 2 in the bottom half.

Stanford won its first conference title 36 years ago. That title is only one of 29 as the Cardinal have dominated the last five of six years of the tournament with Forood at the helm. California was the only team to break Stanford’s streak in 2021.

A matchup between the Bruins and Cardinal can open the depths of the unknown.

The last time the two adversaries met at the Pac-12 championships was two years ago when UCLA lost 4-1 in the semifinal round. But that was then, and it would only be a matter of time before the odds worked in the Bruins’ favor.

The Bruins tallied a 4-3 win against the Cardinal in March, with junior Kimmi Hance battling through a tiebreaker to secure the point against Stanford’s top-ranked Connie Ma. The win came after losing against the opponent for two seasons.

This is only a testament to the Bruins’ two weapons in battle – endurance and confidence. From the first top-10 win of the season against then-No. 6 Texas, to clinching a win against then-No. 7 Pepperdine, the Bruins proved their capability to work through tough battles.

The road to a potential final between the two teams must be noticed.

Anticipating what could be a battle between the North and South against No. 4 seed California – notably the Bruins’ only loss in conference matchplay – can be an opportunity to pursue redemption.

The equal has already occurred in a 4-3 loss, but with the recent performances from the players in critical matches and enduring clinchers, the opposite reaction could still happen.

Time will only tell if the Bruins can set the record straight once and for all in a final with the crowd at the edge of their seats. May the reaction be in the Bruins’ favor.