Tian, Wagle Drop NCAA Doubles Decision

STILLWATER, Okla. – The tandem of Tian Fangan and Elise Wagle, ranked 13th in the nation, was eliminated from the NCAA Championships doubles tournament Tuesday by No. 15 Ariana Arseneault/DJ Bennett of Auburn at Greenwood Tennis Center. The Tigers won by a 7-6(3), 7-5 margin, advancing to the second round.

Tian/Wagle earned the evening's first break of serve to help the pair earn a 3-2 advantage that quickly became 4-2. Arseneault/Bennett answered by taking the next three games to get the contest back on serve. A subsequent tiebreaker saw the Auburn duo take four of the first five points en route to the set. A two-game lead was not achieved in the second set until Arseaneault/Bennett capped a three-game run with the deciding hold.

Tian/Wagle was nine of its last 10 matches and finished 13-4 for the season. The Bruins went 6-3 against nationally-ranked teams and beat both top-five pairs they faced – No. 2 Savannah Broadus/Janice Tjen of Pepperdine and No. 5 Matka Komac/Avelina Sayfetdinova of Texas Tech. Tian/Wagle was named Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year and reached its season-high ranking of No. 13 May 2.