No. 19 Women's Tennis Suffers 5-2 Loss at No. 5 Pepperdine

MALIBU, Calif. -- The 19th-ranked UCLA women's tennis team captured the first point against No. 5 Pepperdine, but was ultimately overcome in a 5-2 decision at Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center Saturday.

Kimmi Hance turned in victories on the singles and doubles courts for the Bruins (2-3). The Waves (3-1) were triumphant on five of six singles courts, however, with Lisa Zaar clinching the team win at 4-2. The final in-progress match was completed.

Savannah Broadus and Janice Tjen of Pepperdine teamed to blank Vanessa Ong and Elise Wagle on Court 2 for the first doubles result. UCLA was unfazed, though, bouncing back with a pair of 6-3 wins to take the initial point. Hance and Sasha Vagramov teamed for the second time in as many days and again recorded a victory, this time against Shiori Fukuda and Anastasia Iamachkine. Then, with the focus turned to the top court, Ava Catanzarite and Abbey Forbes dispatched of the nation's No. 11 tandem of Zaar and Victoria Flores.

The 36th-ranked Broadus dealt Catanzarite a 6-2, 6-0 loss on Court 6 for the Waves' first point.

Hance put the Bruins back in the lead with her first-career dual-match singles win, a 6-4, 6-1 decision versus No. 30 Flores on Court 3.

Pepperdine triumphed on each of the four remaining courts. No. 31 Fukuda handed No. 68 Forbes her first loss of the dual-match season, 6-2, 6-3, on the top court. No. 18 Pachkaleva posted a 6-3, 6-2 victory on Court 4 against Ong, who clinched UCLA's Friday afternoon result over UC Santa Barbara. Then, the 10th-ranked Zaar edged out No. 49 Vagramov in a first-set tiebreaker and rode that to a 7-6(2), 6-2 clincher.

With the match decided, No. 93 Tjen, who reached the NCAA Championships singles semifinals as a member while at Oregon, got the upper hand in two of three tiebreakers with Wagle. In the first-to-10 third set, Wagle bounced back from an 0-5 deficit before suffering a 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 1-0(7) loss.

The Bruins return to action Monday, Feb. 21, when No. 4 California visits Los Angeles Tennis Center. First serve in the non-conference matchup is set for 12 p.m. PT.

Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Pepperdine
2/5/2022 at Malibu, CA
(Ralphs-Straus Tennis Center)

#5 Pepperdine 5, #19 UCLA 2

Singles competition
1. #31 Shiori Fukuda (PEPP) def. #68 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) 6-2, 6-3
2. #10 Lisa Zaar (PEPP) def. #49 Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
3. Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. #30 Victoria Flores (PEPP) 6-4, 6-1
4. #18 Taisiya Pachkaleva (PEPP) def. Vanessa Ong (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2
5. #93 Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. Elise Wagle (UCLA) 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (2-7), 1-0 (10-7)
6. #36 Savannah Broadus (PEPP) def. Ava Catanzarite (UCLA) 6-2, 6-0

Doubles competition
1. Ava Catanzarite/Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. #11 Victoria Flores/Lisa Zaar (PEPP) 6-3
2. Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen (PEPP) def. Vanessa Ong/Elise Wagle (UCLA) 6-0
3. Kimmi Hance/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Shiori Fukuda/Anastasia Iamachkine (PEPP) 6-3

Match Notes:
UCLA 2-3; National ranking #19
Pepperdine 3-1; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (6,3,1,4,2,5)