DURHAM, NC- The UCLA women’s tennis team upset the number 6 Duke in a 4-3 thriller Saturday night at the Blue Devils’ Ambler Tennis Stadium to earn a spot in the national round of the NCAA Championships.
Sasha Vagramov delivered the heroics for the second time in as many tournament games, this time with all eyes on her court. The senior won two tiebreaks to complete her team’s comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Also victorious were the Bruins (15-7) in singles Kimmi Hance, Anne-Christine Lütkemeyer And Elise Wagel. The Blue Devils (23-5) narrowly clinched the double and had Chloe Beck and Emma Jackson added to their tally.
All corners…
??? @CrackedRacquets #GoBruins | #NCAA Tennis pic.twitter.com/jNn0yWTKgf
— UCLA women’s tennis (@uclawtennis) May 7, 2023
Near-simultaneous finishes to start the doubles game left each side with a win. Duke’s Court 2-pair Jackson and Karolina Berankova, ranked 82nd, earned a break of serve at 3-2, driving it to a 6-3 win over Vagramov and Ava catanzarite. Court 3 Bruins Lutkemeyer u Fangran Tian however, responded with a break to make it 3-3 to defeat Iuliia Bryzgalova and Georgia Drummy 6-4. The tandem of Lutkemeyer and Tian has won in 10 of their 11 games played. Alternating breaks in the last two games on Court 1 resulted in a tie break between No. 7 Hance/Wagle and No. 69 Beck/Ellie Coleman. Beck and Coleman took the first five points and held on to a 7-4 win.
Wagle hit back forcefully in singles play, beating Coleman 6-3, 6-3 on Court 4 to level the score. Wagle’s 11-4 dual-match individual record includes a 5-1 mark in fourth place.
The Blue Devils responded on top court, where No. 6 Chloe Beck handed No. 14 Tian their first singles loss in duals play. The Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer of the Year came into play 16-0 on Saturday. Beck is now 21-1 in dual match singles play. Their lead soon rose to 3-1 as No. 42 Jackson defeated Catanzarite in a 6-3, 6-4 decision on Court 3.
Hance, No. 112, started the comeback with a fifth win in as many finished games, a 6-4, 7-5 result against No. 62 Drummy on Court 2. Hance now also has five in 2022-23 Recorded wins over national ranked players.
Lutkemeyer was down 6-0, 3-0 against Brianna Shvets on Court 6, but was able to force a tiebreak in the second set, which she won 7-5. Lutkemeyer added a 6-3 third set to cap their first postseason singles win at a pivotal moment.
That drew the focus to Court 5, where Vagramov had already beaten Bryzgalova in the tiebreak of the first set. After forcing a second, Bryzgalova captured the first three points. Vagramov responded by taking the next four only to have Bryzgalova respond with two. With the score at 6:6, Vagramov took over the last two points of the evening to cause a cheer.
UCLA takes on No. 11 Iowa State on May 12 at the Ames High Tennis Complex. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m. PT.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs. Duke
May 6, 2023 in Durham, NC
(Ambler Tennis Stadium)
#20 UCLA 4, #7 Duke 3
competition in singles
1. #6 Chloe Beck (DUKE) defeated. #14 Fangran Tian (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
2. #112 Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. #62 Georgia Drummy (DUKE) 6-4, 7-5
3. #42 defeated Emma Jackson (DUKE). Ava catanzarite (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4
4. Elise Wagel (UCLA) def. Ellie Coleman (DUKE) 6-3, 6-3
5. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Iuliia Bryzgalova (DUKE) 7:6 (7:3), 7:6 (8:6)
6. A. Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Brianna Shvets (DUKE) 0-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3
competition in doubles
1. #69 Chloe Beck/Ellie Coleman (DUKE) def. #7 Kimmi Hance/Elise Wagel (UCLA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. #82 Karolina Berankova/Emma Jackson (DUKE) def. Ava catanzarite/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 6-3
3. A. Lütkemeyer/Fangran Tian (UCLA) def. Iuliia Bryzgalova/Georgia Drummy (DUKE) 6-4
Game Notes:
UCLA 15-7; National Ranking #20
Duke 23-5; National Ranking #7
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Single (4,1,3,2,6,5)
NCAA Championships – Second Round
