The title of college athlete is one that few can claim.

Of the over 7 million high school athletes in the United States, only about 2% go on to play at the D1 collegiate level – and even fewer for a Power Four program.

And after holding that title for the past four years, seniors Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle’s time as Bruins is beginning its close.

Celebrating Senior Day, No. 19 UCLA women’s tennis (15-7, 10-3 Big Ten) swept Rutgers (7-14, 1-12) on Saturday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center to close out the regular season.

Fittingly, it was the seniors who put on a show on the top court in doubles.

Down 5-1, No. 18 Hance and Wagle won six games in a row to snatch a win from Rutgers’ Mai Nguyen and Naomi Karki.

“I didn’t doubt it for a second,” Hance said. “I knew we were going to be able to get it back.”

The seniors’ victory clinched the doubles point for UCLA after No. 6 freshmen Olivia Center and Kate Fakih bested Minchae Kim and Zeynep Ilker 6-4 to begin the afternoon.

“It was just so epic how they did end up winning that and clinching it for the team,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “It just made it such a great day.”

With No. 26 junior Anne-Christine Lutkemyer absent from Saturday’s singles lineup, Hance returned to court one – where she played her first six singles matches of 2025 – and put UCLA halfway to victory with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Nguyen.

Then, sophomore Bianca Fernandez, playing in her first match since April 11, bested Karki 6-1, 6-2.

And for the second day in a row, No. 63 Wagle clinched the Bruins’ sweep of a Big Ten opponent. The senior’s besting of Zuzanna Frankowska 6-2, 6-4, closely followed by sophomore Ahmani Guichard’s 6-1, 6-3 showing against Jackeline Lopez, pushed UCLA to a 5-0 victory.

“I know the team was working together to slow down on other courts to get me to clinch,” Wagle said. “It felt really good, and I’m really proud of everyone.”

Although the Bruins will have the opportunity to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA championships at home – depending on how they’re seeded following next week’s Big Ten tournament – there’s a possibility that Saturday was Hance and Wagle’s final match at the LATC.

“It’s everything to finish off my college career like this – it’s really amazing,” Hance said. “I have faith in my team that we’ll do well enough at Big Tens that we’ll be able to play here again.”

The tears and flowers shared Saturday do not signify the end for Hance, Wagle and the rest of the Bruins. UCLA will travel to Ojai, California – the site of the Pac-12 tournament from 1987 to 2024 – to play in its first ever Big Ten championships Wednesday.

So despite the celebrations, the grind hasn’t ended for the team.

“We’ll taper down but still have things that we can work on and can improve on,” Sampras Webster said.