UCLA Trio Reaches NCAA Singles, Doubles Quarterfinals
ORLANDO, Fla. – UCLA will be represented in the quarterfinal rounds of the NCAA Division I Women's Tennis Championships singles and doubles tournaments, as Abbey Forbes and the duo of Elysia Bolton and Jada Hart advanced with wins Tuesday at USTA National Campus.
Forbes continued to impress in her debut at the event, defeating Emma Antonaki of Mississippi State by a 6-3, 6-3 score to start the afternoon. Veterans Bolton and Hart began the evening session with an upset of the top-seeded Kentucky pair of Fiona Arrese and Akvile Paražinskaite, 6-3, 6-2.
In a match that did not see a hold of serve until 3-2 of the first set, No. 7 Forbes seized the initial advantage. Holds until 5-3, when No. 33 Antonaki was broken, ensued. The second set saw Antonaki break at 1-1 and turn that into a 3-1 lead. Forbes broke back at 2-3 and added another at 4-3 en route to the victory.
Forbes advanced to face defending champion and top-ranked Estela Perez-Somarriba of Miami, who posted a 6-3, 6-3 win over Alexa Graham of North Carolina Tuesday. Forbes and Perez-Somarriba will meet Wednesday at 9 a.m., PT. Forbes and Perez-Somarriba have met once before, as then-No. 2 Perez-Somarriba dealt an unranked Forbes a 6-2, 6-3 loss in the quarterfinal round of the 2019 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Newport Beach, Calif.
One break was all Bolton and Hart needed in their first set with No. 1 Arrese and Paražinskaite, as they broke at 1-0 en route to a 3-0 lead to start the match. The Bruins went on to break at 1-1 and 3-1, ultimately taking five of the first six games.
Bolton and Hart each achieved All-America status with the quarterfinal-round berth. Bolton has now accomplished the feat to conclude each of her three seasons, while Hart joined a club of four-time honorees that now numbers nine. Bolton and Hart move on to face the NC State tandem of Anna Rogers and Alana Smith Wednesday at 3 p.m., PT. Bolton and Hart beat then-No. 1 Rogers and Smith, 6-4, 6-3, to claim the doubles title at the 2019 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships.