Women's Tennis Falls at Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. – The No. 6 UCLA women's tennis team dropped a non-conference match at No. 20 Pepperdine 4-0 Wednesday afternoon at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center.

The Bruins (9-3, 1-0 Pac-12) nearly forced four third sets in doubles play, but Pepperdine's Adrijana Lekaj held off Elysia Bolton 6-4, 7-5 for the deciding win. The Waves (6-3) seized the doubles point by capturing two closely-contested matches.

Pepperdine earned early breaks on Courts 2 and 3 to set the tone in doubles play. Both courts were necessary for the Waves, as the new Bruin combination of Ayan Broomfield and Jada Hart proved a force to be reckoned with up top. Broomfield-Hart recorded a break of its own and then another on the way to a 4-0 lead. The 17th-ranked Pepperdine tandem of Jessica Failla and Anastasia Iamachkine took two of the next three games, but it was too little too late. Broomfield-Hart won 6-2 for the day's first decision.

Abi Altick-Elysia Bolton stayed in the match on Court 3, but Adrijana Lekaj-Dzina Milovanovic kept the Bruins at arm's length. Capitalizing on momentum from the early break, Lekaj-Milovanovic pulled the Waves even with a 6-4 victory.

With all eyes on Court 2, the UCLA duo of Gabby Andrews and Alaina Miller bounced back from its early break to capture three games in a row. The match remained on serve from that point until Ashley Lahey-Daria Kuczer posted another break at 4-4. The Pepperdine pair held for the final game and day's first point.

The Waves carried their doubles success into singles play, accumulating five first-set wins to put the Bruins nearer elimination.

In the afternoon's only matchup of ranked opponents, No. 56 Lahey doubled up No. 64 Hart in the first set. The Bruin challenged in the second frame, but Lahey delivered a 6-3, 6-4 victory to increase the home team's lead to 2-0.

Andrews fought back from an early 0-3 deficit against Iamachkine on Court 6, bringing the match even at 4-4. The Pepperdine freshman prevailed 6-4, however, and followed that with an identical second-set score to make it 3-0.

The match was finalized on Court 2, where a back-and-forth first set went to Lekaj. In the second, Bolton earned a big break to pull even at 5-5, but was answered by a Lekaj break that moved Pepperdine one game away from victory. Bolton was unable to answer with another break, completing the match.

UCLA will spend 10 days away from competition before returning to Pac-12 play Sunday, March 24 at Oregon. First serve from the Oregon Student Tennis Center is set for 11 a.m.

Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Pepperdine
Mar 13, 2019 at Malibu, Calif.
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)

#20 Pepperdine 4, #6 UCLA 0

Singles competition
1. #56 Ashley Lahey (PEPP) def. #64 Jada Hart (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
2. Adrijana Lekaj (PEPP) def. #10 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4, 7-5
3. Satsuki Takamura (PEPP) vs. Ayan Broomfield (UCLA) 4-6, 5-3, unfinished
4. Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) vs. #110 Abi Altick (UCLA) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0, unfinished
5. Daria Kuczer (PEPP) vs. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-0, 5-7, 1-2, unfinished
6. Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) def. Gabby Andrews (UCLA) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles competition
1. Ayan Broomfield/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. #17 Jessica Failla/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) 6-2
2. Ashley Lahey/Daria Kuczer (PEPP) def. Gabby Andrews/Alaina Miller (UCLA) 6-4
3. Adrijana Lekaj/Dzina Milovanovic (PEPP) def. Abi Altick/Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 6-4

Match Notes:
UCLA 9-3; National ranking #6
Pepperdine 6-3; National ranking #20
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,6,2)