Women's Tennis Beats USC for Second Top-12 Win of Week

LOS ANGELES – The UCLA women's tennis team beat crosstown rival USC, 4-1, Friday afternoon at Los Angeles Tennis Center.

The Bruins (4-3) dropped just three total games in its two completed doubles matches and took a 2-0 lead before the Trojans broke through with their first win of the day. Abbey Forbes clinched the overall victory in straight sets, following up winning singles efforts by Ava Catanzarite and Kimmi Hance. Catanzarite, Forbes and Hance each won twice on the day. Snow Han turned in the lone victory of the day for USC (6-5).

Hance and Sasha Vagramov stayed perfect in dual-match doubles play, taking six of seven games from Sloan Morra and Danielle Willson on Court 3 for the first win of the day. Hance and Vagramov are 4-0 during the dual-match portion of the season and 6-1 overall. Then, on Court 2, the 30th-ranked pair of Catanzarite and Forbes dispatched of No. 19 Han of Salma Ewing by a 6-2 score to secure the initial point. Catanzarite and Forbes have collaborated on a 5-2 record, including a 2-0 mark against nationally-ranked opponents.

In singles play, No. 111 Hance won her third match in a row to keep momentum on the side of UCLA. Her 6-1, 6-2 defeat of Morra made it 2-0. An answer was provided on Court 4, where No. 56 Han bested No. 102 Vagramov, 6-1, 6-4, to cut the Trojans' deficit in half.

Catanzarite, who dropped her first set with Willson by a 6-1 score on Court 6, bounced back convincingly. Catanzarite would lose just three total games the rest of the way, ultimately posting a 1-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory that put the Bruins just one point shy of their fourth.

With No. 115 Forbes and Elysia Bolton each nearing wins on Courts 1 and 2, respectively, Forbes provided the heroics. Tasked with taking down the fifth-ranked Eryn Cayetano, Forbes did just that, posting her third triumph over a nationally-ranked foe this season and first decider of the campaign, 6-4, 7-5.

UCLA hits the road to start Pac-12 play Friday, March 4, when it visits the University of Colorado. First serve is set for 12 p.m. PT. The Bruins finish their trip two days later at the University of Utah, with that one scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. PT.

Tennis Match Results
USC vs UCLA
2/25/2022 at Los Angeles, CA
(Los Angeles Tennis Center)

#56 UCLA 4, #12 USC 1

Singles competition
1. #115 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. #5 Eryn Cayetano (USC) 6-4, 7-5
2. Elysia Bolton (UCLA) vs. #36 Salma Ewing (USC) 6-3, 6-6 (3-5), unfinished
3. #56 Snow Han (USC) def. #102 Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 6-1, 6-4
4. #111 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. Sloane Morra (USC) 6-1, 6-2
5. Elise Wagle (UCLA) vs. Grace Piper (USC) 6-4, 3-6, 3-0, unfinished
6. Ava Catanzarite (UCLA) def. Danielle Willson (USC) 1-6, 6-2, 6-1

Doubles competition
1. #28 Elysia Bolton/Elise Wagle (UCLA) vs. Eryn Cayetano/Grace Piper (USC) 4-4, unfinished
2. #30 Ava Catanzarite/Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. #19 Salma Ewing/Snow Han (USC) 6-2
3. Kimmi Hance/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Sloane Morra/Danielle Willson (USC) 6-1

Match Notes:
USC 6-5; National ranking #12
UCLA 4-3; National ranking #56
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,3,6,1)