UCLA women’s tennis prepares for quarterfinal round of last Pac-12 championship
Junior Kimmi Hance pumps her fist in celebration. UCLA women’s tennis earned the No. 1 seed in the last-ever Pac-12 championships. (Nicolas Greamo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Chloe Agas
April 25, 2024 10:34 a.m.
The Bruins are fewer than 100 days away from transitioning from the Pac-12 conference to the Big Ten.
But before they can look to the future, one final Pac-12 championship will mark their last event as part of the conference.
No. 1 seed UCLA women’s tennis (17-4, 9-1 Pac-12) will face No. 8 seed Utah (11-10, 3-7) in the quarterfinal round of the 2024 Pac-12 championships in Ojai, California, on Thursday afternoon. The Bruins will have a chance to win their third conference crown this weekend.
Last season, UCLA fell to then-No. 5 seed Washington in the first round by a score of 4-0.
Junior Kimmi Hance said those previous setbacks fuel motivation.
“We’re just using that as motivation for this year,” Hance said. “We don’t want to find ourselves in that position again. We have a lot of confidence going into the tournament, and we’re going to do everything that we can to win.”
UCLA has a potential chance of redemption in the semifinals, should it go that far, against a familiar foe – No. 3 seed California – as it fell to the latter earlier this season by one point.
Sophomore Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer said the Bruins are fueled by confidence and a thirst for retribution.
“We’re looking forward to playing against Cal and getting some revenge,” Lutkemeyer said. “We’re all really focused on keeping our energy high, focusing on our preparation, getting some good rest – it’ll be nice to play them.”
UCLA dominates in all-time matchups against its first-round opponent, Utah, 13-0. If the Bruins emerge victorious against Utah in the quarterfinal and Cal in the semifinals, a matchup with No. 2 seed Stanford could loom.
But Sampras Webster said the intention is to take it one step at a time and appreciate the history of the moment.
“We’re going to take it one match at a time,” Sampras Webster said. “Keep working, enjoying and being grateful for this opportunity to play there and knowing that it’s going to be the last time.”
Along with confidence and achievement, Sampras Webster said her crew is prepared to face the road ahead.
“I can’t believe it’s going to be our last Pac-12 tournament in Ojai,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “There’s so much tradition and so much great tennis we played on those courts, and I’m just going to miss everything about it.”
