2019 Pac-12 Tennis Championships Central

OJAI, Calif. - For the second straight year, No. 1 seed Stanford and No. 2 UCLA will meet for the Pac-12 Women's Tennis Championship as both teams advanced through the semifinals at Weil Tennis Academy on Friday. The Cardinal swept No. 4 USC, 4-0, while the Bruins outlasted No. 3 Washington, 4-3.

Saturday's title match and top-10 showdown will move venues to Libbey Park and be televised on Pac-12 Bay Area and the Pac-12 Now app at 12 p.m. PT.

No. 1 Stanford 4, No. 4 USC 0

Top-seeded and No. 5 nationally ranked Stanford (21-1) will play for its third consecutive Pac-12 Women's Championship tournament title after it swept past No. 4 seed and 15th-ranked USC (18-7), 4-0.

Emily Arbuthnott was the catalyst for the Cardinal as she teamed with Michaela Gordon to clinch the doubles point on court two, then gave Stanford a 2-0 lead with a straight-sets triumph at No. 4 singles.

Caroline Lampl and Janice Shin followed with straight-sets victories on courts three and five to put the Cardinal through to the title match.

Stanford has now played in a total of eight duals over the course of three Pac-12 tournaments and has surrendered just three total sets (32-3).

Coupled with its regular-season Conference crown in 2016 prior to the implementation of the women's tournament in 2017, the Cardinal will now be seeking a fourth-straight Pac-12 title and automatic berth into the NCAA Championship. It would be the Conference's longest title streak since Stanford won at least a share of 21 straight crowns from 1988-2008.

No. 2 UCLA 4, No. 3 Washington 3

Second-seeded and No. 9 nationally ranked UCLA (18-6) sprinted out to a 3-0 lead, but had to survive a torrid comeback attempt by third-seeded and No. 11 ranked Washington (19-4) before ultimately prevailing 4-3 to set up the finals rematch.

While six of the tourney's opening eight matches were decided by sweeps, the second semifinal proved to be the most competitive match of the tournament so far.

The Bruins were on the brink of a sweep after securing the doubles point and Abi Altick and Gabby Andrews won in straight sets on courts five and six.

However, Natsuho Arakawa got the Huskies on the board with a win on court four, and the remaining three matches became marathon affairs all last more than two-and-a-half hours.

Stacey Fung and Vanessa Wong both battled back from first-set losses with second-set tiebreak victories and evened the match at 3-3 with victories on courts one and two.

Attention shifted to No. 4 singles where UCLA's Ayan Broomfield recovered from a first-set defeat, and an ailing knee, to post a 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1 triumph and propel the Bruins back to the final.

2019 PAC-12 WOMEN'S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
Semifinals // Fri., April 26, 2019 // Weil Tennis Academy, Ojai, Calif.

No. 2 UCLA 4, No. 3 Washington 3
DOUBLES:
1. Stacey Fung/Nika Zupancic, WASH v. Gabby Andrews/Ayan Broomfield, UCLA - 3-2 unf.
2. Elysia Bolton/Jada Hart, UCLA def. Vanessa Wong/Zoey Weil, WASH - 6-1
3. Abi Altick/Taylor Johnson, UCLA def. Kenadi Hance/Natsuho Arakawa, WASH - 6-2
Order of finish: 2, 3

SINGLES:
1. Stacey Fung, WASH def. Jada Hart, UCLA - 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
2. Vanessa Wong, WASH def. Elysia Bolton, UCLA - 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-2
3. Ayan Broomfield, UCLA def. Katarina Kopcalic, WASH - 3-6, 7-6 (5), 6-1
4. Natsuho Arakawa, WASH def. Alaina Miller, UCLA - 7-5, 6-4
5. Abi Altick, UCLA def. Sedona Gallagher, WASH - 6-4, 6-1
6. Gabby Andrews, UCLA def. Nika Zupancic, WASH - 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: 5, 6, 4, 1, 2, 3

No. 1 Stanford 4, No. 4 USC 0
DOUBLES:
1. Angela Kulikov/Rianna Valdes, USC def. Caroline Lampl/Kimi Yee, STAN - 7-5
2. Emily Arbuthnott/Michaela Gordon, STAN def. Becca Weissmann/Dani Willson, USC - 7-5
3. Melissa Lord/Niluka Madurawe, STAN def. Constance Branstine/Estella Jaeger, USC - 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2

SINGLES:
1. Michaela Gordon, STAN v. Salma Ewing, USC - 6-4, 6-6 unf.
2. Melissa Lord, STAN v. Angela Kulikov, USC - 6-4, 4-6, 4-4 unf.
3. Caroline Lampl, STAN def. Ana Neffa, USC - 6-0, 7-6 (0)
4. Emily Arbuthnott, STAN def. Rianna Valdes, USC - 6-3, 6-3
5. Janice Shin, STAN def. Becca Weissmann, USC - 6-3, 6-4
6. Dani Willson, USC v. Emma Higuchi, STAN - 5-7, 6-2, 3-1 unf.
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5