College Tennis News - Fifth-Ranked Bruins Top Utes, 6-1 in Pac-12 Opener

LOS ANGELES - The fifth-ranked UCLA women's tennis team turned in an impressive performance in its 2013 Pac-12 opener on Friday afternoon at the Los Angeles Tennis Center, cruising to a 6-1 victory over Utah. With the win, the Bruins improve to 10-2 overall and 1-0 in the conference, while the Utes fall to 7-4 and 1-2 in the Pac-12.

After not teaming together for more than a month, sophomores Robin Anderson and Skylar Morton resumed their normal place at the top of the Bruin lineup on Friday, helping UCLA clinch the doubles point with an 8-6 win over 21st-ranked Tereza Bekerova and Paige Miles. Anderson and Morton are currently listed at No. 12 in the latest ITA doubles rankings.

The Bruins' other victory in doubles came at court No. 3, where freshmen Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips were near perfect in an 8-1 win over Callie Craig and Sarah Pham.

In singles action, Anderson was dominant at court No. 1, dropping just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Bekerova to give UCLA a 2-0 lead. Anderson, who has been ranked as high as No. 2 this year, is currently listed at No. 5 in the nation.

Playing back at court No. 4, sophomore Chanelle Van Nguyen duplicated Anderson's performance, as she also lost just one game in a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Natasha Smith to make it 3-0 UCLA.

Harrison clinched the win for the Bruins at court No. 5, downing Lucia Kovarcikova, 6-2, 6-3.

With the match already decided, UCLA received singles wins from Courtney Dolehide (court No. 6) and Kyle McPhillips (court No. 3).

Utah's lone point of the afternoon came at court No. 2, where Pham outlasted Bruin senior Pamela Montez, 5-7, 6-2 (10-8).

UCLA returns to action on Saturday, hosting Colorado at Noon.

#5 UCLA 6, #59 Utah 1
Mar 15, 2013 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)

Doubles
1. #12 Anderson/Skylar Morton (UCLA) def. #21 Bekerova/Miles (UTAH) 8-6
2. Elena Najera-Salas/Smith (UTAH) def. #28 Dolehide/Montez (UCLA) 8-5
3. Harrison/McPhillips (UCLA) def. Craig/Pham (UTAH) 8-1
UCLA Wins Doubles Point

Singles
1. #5 Robin Anderson (UCLA) def. #70 Tereza Bekerova (UTAH) 6-1, 6-0
2. Sarah Pham (UTAH) def. #86 Pamela Montez (UCLA) 5-7, 6-2, (10-8)
3. #58 Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. Callie Craig (UTAH) 5-7, 6-2, (10-3)
4. #95 Chanelle Van Nguyen (UCLA) def. Natasha Smith (UTAH) 6-1, 6-0
5. #85 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) def. Lucia Kovarcikova (UTAH) 6-2, 6-3
6. Courtney Dolehide (UCLA) def. Paige Miles (UTAH) 6-0, 6-4

Match Notes
Utah 7-4; 1-2 Pac-12; National ranking #59
UCLA 10-2; 1-0 Pac-12; National ranking #5
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,4,5,6,2,3)