Bruins Advance to Doubles Semis
November 04, 2016 | Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis
FLUSHING, NY – Ena Shibahara and Jada Hart have punched their ticket to the doubles semifinals at the 2016 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships. The Bruin pair downed Alabama's Andie Daniell and Erin Routliffe in a third-set super tiebreaker in the quarterfinals on Friday evening.
After taking the first set, 6-4, Shibahara and Hart dropped the second set to their 34th-ranked Alabama foes. In a super tiebreaker, the Bruins registered a decisive 10-4 win to advance to the semis. There, they will face Vladica Babic and Carla Tur Mari of Oklahoma State.
In singles play, Gage Brymer fell in the quarterfinals to top-seeded Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State, while Baylor's Blair Shankle upset second-seeded Shibahara in the round of 16.
In his morning match, Brymer downed No. 45 Jose Salazar of Arkansas in three sets. The Bruin took the first set, 6-3, winning four of five break points and serving up an ace. Salazar rallied in the second—breaking Brymer three times—to force a third set. There, Brymer regained control of the match, serving up two aces, saving a break point, and winning 13 of 17 first-serve points. The Bruin advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 win over Salazar.
In the quarters, Brymer fell in straight sets to Torpegaard, who is currently ranked No. 1 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Preseason Collegiate Tennis Rankings.
On the women's side, Shibahara fell to No. 54 Blair Shankle (Baylor) in three sets. After dropping the first set to Shankle, 7-5, Shibahara battled back in the second. There, the Bruin freshman won 17 of 20 first-serve points, was five for five on game points, and broke Shankle once. Despite forcing a third set, Shibahara was unable to keep pace, as Shankle registered the 6-3 win to advance to the quarterfinals.
The National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships continue tomorrow for the Bruins with doubles action. Live stream of the matches will be available at FloTennis.com, while updated draws and daily recaps can be found at the Championships page.
For updates, follow @UCLAWTennis and @ITA_Tennis on Twitter and use the hashtag #NationalIndoors.
USTA/ITA National Indoors
Nov 3-6, 2016 at Flushing, NY (Billie Jean King National Tennis Center)
| Singles competition | |
| 32 | Ena Shibahara (UCLA) def. Camilee Gbaguidi (SCAD) 6-2, 6-7 (1-7), 6-1 |
| 32 | #38 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. #37 Alfredo Perez (Florida) 6-4, 6-7 (5-7), 6-2 |
| 16 | #54 Blair Shankle (Baylor) def. Ena Shibahara (UCLA) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 |
| 16 | #38 Gage Brymer (UCLA) def. #45 Jose Salazar (Arkansas) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 |
| QF | #1 Mikael Torpegaard (Ohio State) def. #38 Gage Brymer (UCLA) 6-1, 6-2 |
| Doubles competition | |
| 16 | Ena Shibahara/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Star Makarome/Alexandra Solovyev (Columbia) 6-0, 6-4 |
| QF | Ena Shibahara/Jada Hart (UCLA) def. Andie Daniell/Erin Routliffe (Alabama) 6-4, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4) |
Players Mentioned
UCLA W. Tennis Postmatch - Olivia Center & Kate Fakih (Nov. 23, 2024)
Sunday, November 24
Media Availability - Coach Sampras Webster (May 15, 2024)
Thursday, May 16
NCAA First and Second Rounds
Friday, May 03
Postmatch Interviews: Fangran Tian/Rance Brown (May 27, 2023)
Saturday, May 27