A loss to a top-five ranked opponent Saturday snapped the Bruins’ streak of 22 straight home victories.

But Sunday’s bounce-back win could be what the squad needed to retighten the screws.

In its first Big Ten dual matches at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, No. 24 UCLA women’s tennis (7-6, 2-2 Big Ten) fell to No. 5 Michigan (13-3, 6-0) on Saturday 4-1 before rebounding with a sweep of Michigan State (10-7, 2-4) on Sunday.

“It (Michigan) showed why they’re number five in the country,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “They are so physical, so fit. They move extremely well and there might be points where we feel like we could hit a winner on, but the ball keeps coming back.”

Sophomore Ahmani Guichard and junior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer locked in the doubles point with a 6-3 win on court three, giving the Bruins an early 1-0 lead.

But that advantage quickly slipped away.

The Bruins dropped four singles matches – court by court – as freshman Kate Fakih, senior Kimmi Hance, senior Elise Wagle and freshman Olivia Center handed the Wolverines the 4-1 victory.

But UCLA was set to compete fewer than 19 hours later – and it defeated Michigan State 4-0 on Sunday.

“It was a learning experience,” Wagle said. “I’m really happy that we were able to translate that and have a quick turnaround from yesterday (Saturday) into today’s (Sunday’s) match.”

Guichard and Lutkemeyer opened the doubles competition with a 6-2 victory over Spartans Issey Purser and Hanna Tstitavets before No. 3 Fakih and Center cemented a 1-0 Bruin lead.

Guichard and Center won their singles matches in straight sets, putting the Bruins a point away from victory.

Center’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Michigan State’s Oriana Parkins-Godwin is the freshman’s first since Jan. 25 when she defeated Washington’s Carina Syrtveit. She said the pressure of singles initially set her back, but ultimately sharpened her mental game.

“Every little change of energy and body language affects everyone,” Center said. “The main thing I’ve learned is keeping my head high and my energy high – even in the big moments – and just trusting myself.”

Wagle clinched Sunday’s win by defeating Matilde Morais 6-3, 6-3 on court four.

Following the competition, Sampras Webster said the weekend’s matches gave her perspective on how the team can grow to handle what lies ahead.

“There’s more we can do,” Sampras Webster said. “We can improve a lot in the month and a half so that we can finish strong.”