Saturday, April 9, 2016

UCLA Drops 4-3 Heartbreaker to ASU

LOS ANGELES, Calif. – After a nearly six-hour rain delay, the No. 23 UCLA women’s tennis team dropped a heartbreaker to No. 26 Arizona State on Friday night.  In a match that lasted four hours, the Bruins (13-5, 5-2 Pac-12) fell to the Sun Devils, 4-3.  Due to inclement weather and the delay, the match started with singles.

It was an uphill battle for the Bruins from the start, as they dropped all six first sets.  At the top of the lineup, No. 15 Catherine Harrison held to knot the opening set at 6-6 and force the tiebreaker.  After battling back and forth with No. 23 Desirae Krawczyk, Harrison fell to her Sun Devil opponent, 7-5, in the tiebreak.  On court 4, Alaina Miller also fell, 7-5, in a tiebreaker.

ASU’s Sammi Hampton put the first point on the board when she downed Kristin Wiley in straights on court 5, giving the Sun Devils a 1-0 advantage.

The Bruins picked up steam on the remaining courts, taking four of five second sets.  Kyle
McPhillips battled back to edge No. 84 Kassidy Jump in a second-set tiebreaker on court 2, while Harrison, Terri Fleming, and Miller each forced a third set.  Despite a late surge on court 6, Maia Magill fell to Gussie O’Sullivan to give ASU a 2-0 lead.
    
Down 0-3 on court 3, Fleming rallied to win six straight games over Ebony Panoho and to put the first Bruin point on the board.  The UCLA sophomore broke Panoho at deuce to take the final set, 6-3, and cut the deficit to 1-2.
The Sun Devils responded on court 4 to regain the two-point advantage.  Although Miller jumped out to an early lead in the final set, Stephanie Vlad mounted a comeback and downed her Bruin opponent, 6-4.   

The remaining matches at the top of the lineup went down to the wire, as Harrison and McPhillips battled to keep the Bruins alive.  Tied at 4-4 in the third on court 1, Harrison won two straight to take the match and put the Bruins within one.
On court 2, ASU’s Jump held to tie the set at 6-6 and send it into the tiebreaker.  McPhillips led, 4-2, as both players switched sides.  Jump chipped away to cut the deficit to one, but McPhillips held on to win, 7-5, and send the match into doubles play.
The Sun Devils jumped out to early leads on all three courts in doubles.  The fifth-ranked duo of Harrison and McPhillips fell to the No. 26 pair of Panoho and Alexandra Osborne at the top of the lineup, 6-2.  Despite keeping the scores close, the Bruins could not keep pace in the remaining matches.  Vlad and Krawczyk downed Fleming and Miller, 6-3, on court 2 to clinch for ASU.
     
On Saturday, UCLA hosts No. 66 Arizona at noon.  The Bruins will honor their seniors--Harrison, McPhillips, and Laura Luca.  Due to rain in the forecast, please follow the Bruins on Twitter for updates on the match.   

#26 Arizona State 4, #23 UCLA 3
Apr 08, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
Doubles competition
1. #26 Panoho/Osborne (ASU) def. #5 Harrison/McPhillips (UCLA) 6-2
2. Krawczyk/Vlad (ASU) def. Fleming/Miller (UCLA) 6-3
3. Wiley/Magill (UCLA) vs. #65 Jump/Hampton (ASU) 4-5, unfinished
Singles competition
1. #15 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) def. #23 Desirae Krawczyk (ASU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-4
2. Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. #84 Kassidy Jump (ASU) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 7-6 (7-5)
3. Terri Fleming (UCLA) def. Ebony Panoho (ASU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
4. Stephanie Vlad (ASU) def. Alaina Miller (UCLA) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-4
5. Sammi Hampton (ASU) def. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2
6. Gussie O'Sullivan (ASU) def. Maia Magill (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
Match Notes
Arizona State 16-4; National ranking #26
UCLA 13-5; National ranking #23
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (5,6,3,4,1,2)
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