Women's Tennis Drops Decision to Stanford in Pac-12 Semifinals

OJAI, Calif. – The second-seeded UCLA women's tennis team got off to a strong start in its Pac-12 Championships semifinal-round match Friday, but was overcome by No. 3-seed Stanford for a 4-1 result at Ojai Valley Athletic Club.

The Bruins (12-6) seized the doubles point without a loss and grabbed three singles first sets, but the Cardinal (16-5) charged back to record four singles wins without a loss. Valencia Xu clinched the victory for Stanford, which moved into Saturday's championship match with No. 5 Arizona State.

No. 49 Elysia Bolton and Elise Wagle made a statement for UCLA to begin doubles play, dispatching of No. 13 Connie Ma and Angelica Blake by a 6-2 score on the top court. Then, on Court 2, No. 60 Ava Catanzarite and Abbey Forbes dealt Sara Choy and Alexandra Yepifanova a 6-3 loss to put the doubles point on the Bruins' side of the scoreboard.

Stanford slowly steered momentum in its favor during singles play, with Choy's 6-2, 6-2 win against Vanessa Ong on Court 6 counting for its first point. On Court 2, No. 21 Yepifanova mounted a comeback against No. 53 Bolton, taking the contest's final two sets for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision. Blake then kept her match out of a third set, holding off Sasha Vagramov for a 7-5, 6-4 result on Court 4.

With Forbes nearing a victory on Court 1, No. 109 Xu edged out Wagle in a second-set tiebreaker on Court 5, securing a 6-3, 7-6(5) win to keep UCLA off the board in singles play.

Tennis Match Results
Stanford vs UCLA
4/22/ 2022 at Ojai, CA
(Ojai Valley Athletic Club)

#18 Stanford 4, #16 UCLA 1

Singles competition
1. #27 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) vs. #23 Connie Ma (STAN) 6-2, 2-6, 5-1, unfinished
2. #21 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) def. #53 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Angelica Blake (STAN) def. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 7-5, 6-4
4. Kimmi Hance (UCLA) vs. India Houghton (STAN) 6-1, 6-7 (4-7), 1-1, unfinished
5. #109 Valencia Xu (STAN) def. Elise Wagle (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
6. Sara Choy (STAN) def. Vanessa Ong (UCLA) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. #49 Elysia Bolton/Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. #13 Angelica Blake/Connie Ma (STAN) 6-2
2. #60 Ava Catanzarite/Abbey Forbes (UCLA) def. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 6-3
3. Kimmi Hance/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) vs. India Houghton/Valencia Xu (STAN) 4-5, unfinished

Match Notes:
Stanford 16-5; National ranking #18
UCLA 12-6; National ranking #16
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,2,3,5)
Pac-12 Championships - Semifinal Round