The “passing of the torch” is a distinct and intimate phenomenon in the sports world.

Sometimes it can be encapsulated by a glance.

Sometimes it can be realized by an affirmation.

And sometimes, the torch can be passed by sharing the mantle.

No. 16 UCLA women’s tennis (11-6, 5-4 Big Ten) defeated Oregon (11-10, 2-7) 4-1 on Friday and No. 21 Washington (15-3, 6-3) 4-2 on Sunday in a two-match conference homestand at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

Against then-No. 28 Michigan on March 21, coach Stella Sampras Webster split up her court two upperclassmen duo – junior Ahmani Guichard and senior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer – and her court three underclassmen duo – freshmen Mayu Crossley and Kayla Chung – and opted to go with two underclassman-upperclassman combinations. That trend continued through this weekend’s matches.

“She (Lutkemeyer) has a lot of energy,” Crossley said. “When I’m having bad days, my energy goes down. But she’s always positive and brings the team that energy. I could definitely learn from that.”

It was a decision centered around providing guidance to the freshmen, said the 30th-year head coach. And it has yielded results – Crossley and Lutkemeyer went 1-1 over the weekend and extended their record as a duo to 4-1, while Chung and Guichard went 1-1 over the weekend and extended their record as a duo to 2-2.

“They (Lutkemeyer and Crossley) both have so much respect for each other and their chemistry is really strong,” Sampras Webster said. “Having a freshman and a senior is better than two freshmen. … They both need some leadership – players that have played in college doubles and understand it. It’s been a good move.”

The pairing of Crossley and Lutkemeyer also carries another significance – they are the top two players in the Bruins’ singles lineup. Crossley is one of the nation’s top freshmen and a 5-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week, while Lutkemeyer is the team leader in career wins and matches played.

The senior’s UCLA career is coming to a close, while the freshman’s journey is just beginning. It is likely that after Lutkemeyer graduates, Crossley will take over at the top spot for the Bruins.

“I’ve been loving playing with Mayu,” Lutkemeyer said. “In terms of giving her advice, she’s been doing so well, I haven’t really had to tell her anything. I’ve just been trying to tell her to enjoy every moment, enjoy every match because it goes by fast and these are memories you cherish.”

No. 17 Lutkemeyer and No. 41 Crossley also displayed strong play on the singles front over the weekend. The former defeated Oregon’s Tilde Jagare 6-1, 6-0 and Washington’s No. 75 Erika Matsuda 6-2, 6-1, while the latter defeated Olivia Symons 6-3, 7-6(4) and No. 78 Reece Carter 6-1, 6-2.

Crossley has tallied a 13-3 dual match singles record in her inaugural collegiate season, winning 11 of her 13 wins in straight sets. The freshman said her dominance early in matches required a mindset shift from her pre-collegiate tenure.

“Before I came to college, I had a lot of long matches,” Crossley said. “But I started playing really aggressively and worked on coming in and finishing the point early. That’s actually working.”

To Crossley’s left, Lutkemeyer has built a 9-4 dual match singles record in her final collegiate campaign, securing seven of her nine victories in straight sets.

Lutkemeyer and Matsuda stayed close early in the first set on Sunday, before the UCLA senior took control.

“At the beginning of the match, it just took me a second to find my rhythm, so I ended up losing the first two games,” Lutkemeyer said. “I was definitely a bit tight, but I just focused on continuing to play my game and focused on just getting my rhythm back. I knew it was going to come back eventually, so wasn’t too stressed.”

Despite losing the doubles point and being tied with Washington at 2-2, the Bruins took control on the singles front. And strong straight-set efforts from Guichard and sophomore Olivia Center helped seal the Bruins’ third consecutive win.

Sampras Webster said the key to the Bruins’ success against Washington was keeping a short memory after their doubles woes on Sunday.

“It’s really flushing doubles and not thinking about it,” she said. “It could put a little more pressure on the girls. So making sure that everyone takes care of their court is super important because they can’t worry about the overall. They can’t control any of that, so just focusing on their matches was the key.”