This post was updated Oct. 10 at 8:26 p.m.
Ahmani Guichard had only practiced with the team for a few days, still familiarizing herself with college tennis in Westwood.
The freshman was then told she would be competing in the biggest tournament of the fall season.
And she proceeded to outlast both of the veterans that tagged along.
Guichard, along with junior Elise Wagle and sophomore Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer, represented UCLA women’s tennis at the ITA All-American Championships from Sept. 30 to Oct. 1 in Cary, North Carolina. Each of the three entered the prequalifying singles draw at the introductory tournament, but the youngest among them was the only one to reach the third round.
“The girls here are a lot stronger in college tennis, and it’s just another level,” Guichard said. “You have to be a lot quicker, a lot stronger, so I’m really excited for it.”
Collegiate matchplay for the freshman opened in victorious fashion against Duke’s Katie Codd with a 6-4, 6-2 result, before turning in another winning performance in the following round – 6-4, 6-3 over Camille Kiss of UC Santa Barbara.
Guichard’s back-to-back straight-setters in a competitive draw were enough to impress her coach.
“Mentally, she’s a tough player. She plays a very aggressive game,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “I just thought the matches that she played, she stuck with her gamestyle and her identity and didn’t waver.”
But when new blood met old blood, the momentum swung.
Awaiting Guichard in the round of 32 was Oklahoma’s Ava Catanzarite, who played her first two years of collegiate tennis at UCLA. And though the new Bruin was able to take the first set – her fifth-consecutive at that point – she ultimately fell to the junior 5-7, 6-4, 7-5.
Five of the Bruins’ seven rostered players were on the team when Catanzarite was around, and three were there for both of her seasons. Despite all they know about Catanzarite on the court, Guichard said her teammates’ advice wasn’t on how to attack her weaknesses.
“They just told me to play my game,” Guichard said. “I was more focusing on myself than the opponent (Catanzarite) to be honest. Overall, it’s my first tournament, so it’s more about adjusting to that atmosphere.”
As a blue-chip recruit once positioned No. 4 in her class in 2021, Guichard is the highest-ranked newcomer for UCLA, with freshman Mia Jovic – a four-star recruit from Torrance, California – being the only other addition. The duo joins a team that returns five of its six singles starters from 2023.
Considering the ball-striking tendencies of her veterans, Sampras Webster said Guichard fits right into the puzzle.
“She plays a very aggressive game, just like a lot of our returners, so she fits in really well,” Sampras Webster said. “And I think it’s the same thing where she adds a little more variety because she played a lot on clay. She has an excellent drop shot, a very good slice (and) she can hit a very heavy ball.”
The only other Bruin to notch a victory at the All-Americans was Wagle, who defeated Audrey Boch-Collins of Miami 6-1, 7-5 to kick things off. She fell to Florida’s Qavia Lopez 6-4, 6-3 in the second round while Lutkemeyer suffered a first-round exit 7-5, 7-6 (8-6) at the hands of Louisiana State’s Kinaa Graham.
Both Wagle and Lutkemeyer proved critical for UCLA in its Sweet 16 finish last season, with the former winning five of her final six completed matches and the latter contributing to her team’s upset of then-No. 7 seed Duke.
But with the dual-match season months away, the NCAA tournament is not the focus for Wagle – her own game has taken center stage.
“I’m not super results-based,” Wagle said. “I’m more about just making sure I’m progressing the way I want to progress in my game and making sure my game as an individual develops.”
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