As the dual match season looms, the Bruins will need to shuffle their doubles lineup.
After losing three seniors to graduation – Gabby Andrews, Ayan Broomfield and Alaina Miller – UCLA women’s tennis will be without frequent faces from last seasons’ doubles lineup. Andrews and Broomfield regularly held down the No. 1 spot, while Miller recorded a 9-5 doubles dual match record with various partners.
Junior Abi Altick – who was Miller’s occasional doubles partner last season – said UCLA will need to solidify doubles partnerships. Its dual match season kicks off Jan. 24.
“We played a lot of singles and doubles this weekend, so I think for doubles (it’s) just figuring out the teams and gaining more experience, and supporting each other in between matches,” Altick said.
The Bruins came away with the doubles point in 24 of their 29 contests last year.
Andrews and Broomfield were UCLA’s No. 1 doubles team throughout much of the season, except for a period of time between March 8 and March 24 that saw the duo either pushed to the No. 2 spot or split up and paired with teammates. They played together at the No. 1 spot for the rest of the season, save for one match against USC on April 20.
Andrews and Broomfield capped off their senior seasons with an NCAA doubles title run, winning five matches in the tournament and claiming UCLA women’s tennis’ seventh NCAA doubles championship, as the two went 26-8 across all competitions in 2018-2019.
With the duo gone, the Bruins will be without their No. 1 partnership, leaving an opening to be filled. Redshirt senior Jada Hart and her partner sophomore Elysia Bolton regularly held down the No. 2 spot for the Bruins and would – technically – be in line for the No. 1 spot if no lineup adjustments are made.
While the exact lineup will not be known until the ITA kickoff, Hart said she’s excited to start the season with Bolton at her side.
“We match each other pretty well in terms of doubles pairings,” Hart said. “We had a great ending to the fall and a good start to the 2020 year, so we’re really excited to start the season as a pairing.”
The duo went undefeated through three matches at the Pink Flamingo Invitational and also laid claim to the ITA Fall National Championships doubles title in November.
Altick teamed up with sophomore Taylor Johnson to win two matches in the Bahamas, while junior transfer Annette Goulak and freshman Sasha Vagramov won their lone match in which they were paired together.
Goulak and Vagramov came home with the doubles title at the Jack Kramer Collegiate Invitational, winning four consecutive eight-game pro-sets for the championship.
The Bruins won’t be sending any representatives to the Freeman Memorial Championships in Nevada this weekend, and coach Stella Sampras Webster said the team should feel great after its performance throughout the fall and in the Bahamas.
“(The team) should feel very confident,” Sampras Webster said. “We played some of the best players in the country and did very well. I think we’re taking away a lot of confidence, as individuals and as a team. I feel our team is in great shape right now, as far as starting off the new year and to be ready.”
