Forbes, Bolton/Hart Advance to NCAA Rounds of 16

ORLANDO, Fla. – Participants from UCLA claimed a spot in each of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships Individuals Rounds of 16 Monday, as Abbey Forbes and the tandem of Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart were victorious at USTA National Campus.

Forbes bested Irina Cantos Siemers of Ohio State, 6-3, 6-4, while Bolton and Hart knocked off Estela Perez-Somarriba and Isabella Pfennig of Miami, 6-3, 6-3.

No. 7 Forbes and No. 18 Cantos Siemers traded breaks of serve throughout their matchup. Cantos Siemers was unable to hold on any of her first three serves and Forbes jumped out to a 4-1 advantage that she rode to a first-set win. The second set saw Forbes use a break to take a 3-0 lead and then answer three Cantos Siemers breaks with three of her own to complete the straight-set decision.

With the win, Forbes improved to 6-0 versus singles opponents ranked in the top 20 by Oracle ITA and 23-2 overall. She will next meet Emma Antonaki of Mississippi State Tuesday at 9 a.m., PT. Antonaki defeated Mia Horvit of South Carolina, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, to advance.

The 59th-ranked pair of Bolton and Hart, taking the court for the first time since April 16, never trailed in its first set with No. 22 Estela Perez-Somarriba and Isabella Pfennig. The pairs alternated breaks early and the Bruins picked up the elusive second at 4-3. Bolton and Hart captured five games after dropping the opener in the second set and closed with a break to hold off the Hurricanes.

Bolton and Hart move on to face top-seeded Fiona Arrese and Akvilė Paražinskaitė of Kentucky Tuesday at 3 p.m. Arrese and Paražinskaitė edged Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth, 5-7, 6-3, 1-0(4), in their Orlando debut.