LOS ANGELES – UC San Diego sophomore Naomi Nguyen and junior Ella Pachl both won singles matches on Tuesday, but the Tritons ultimately fell to No. 19 UCLA, 5-2, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center. The match was the first clash between the two programs since 1986 – when UC San Diego was a Division III institution.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUP
Final: UC San Diego 0, No. 19 UCLA 4
Records: UC San Diego 9-14, UCLA 12-6
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Bruins swept doubles action to take a 1-0 lead in the match. UCLA's Elise Wagle and Kimmi Hance won 6-0 on court one, and Sasha Vagramov and Ava Catanzarite were 6-3 winners at No. 2 to clinch the point. UC San Diego's Sophie Pearson and Nguyen battled on court three, before falling 7-5 to Fangran Tian and Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer.
 
Singles action began with a pair of victories for the Bruins. UCLA won in straight sets on courts three and five to go up 3-0 in the match. Meantime, at No. 6, Nguyen did her part to get the Tritons on the scoreboard. The UC San Diego sophomore took an impressive 6-1, 6-2 victory over UCLA's Caroline Goldberg to make the score 3-1.
 
The Bruins clinched the match with victories on courts four and one. After dropping the first set at the second position, Ella Pachl took the second set, 6-3, over UCLA's Catanzarite. Pachl won the super tiebreaker, 10-8, to earn a point for the Tritons.
 
RESULTS
Doubles
1. Elise Wagle/Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. Ella Pachl/Kelly Leung (UCSD), 6-0
2. Ava Catanzarite/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Rachel Wagner/Katelyn Vu (UCSD), 6-3
3. Fangran Tian/Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Sophie Pearson/Naomi Nguyen (UCSD), 7-5

Order of finish: 1, 2, 3
 
Singles
1. Kimmi Hance (UCLA) vs. Kelly Leung (UCSD)
2. Ella Pachl (UCSD) def. Ava Catanzarite (UCLA), 1-6, 6-3, 1-0 (8)
3. Elise Wagle (UCLA) def. Grace Gamal (UCSD), 6-3, 6-1
4. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) def. Sophie Pearson (UCSD), 6-1, 6-2
5. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Katelyn Vu (UCSD), 6-0, 6-2
6. Naomi Nguyen (UCSD) def. Caroline Goldberg (UCLA), 6-1, 6-2
 
Order of finish: 3, 5, 6, 4, 1, 2
 
QUOTABLE
"I'm really proud of this team," said UC San Diego head coach Liz LaPlante. "This was a really challenging match that will help us get ready for our Big West finale [on Sunday]. Both Ella and Naomi played particularly well and pulled off great wins for us."
 
TRITON TIDBITS

• Pachl has won 12 career singles matches – tied with Pearson for second most in the program's Division I era.
• UCLA was the Tritons' second Pac-12 opponent this season after UC San Diego played at Arizona State in the season opener. The Tritons were also scheduled to play at Arizona, but that match was rained out.
• The Tritons are now 0-3 all-time vs. the Bruins. The prior two matches took place in 1986 when UC San Diego competed in NCAA Division III.
• UC San Diego concludes the 2023 spring season with a 3-8 mark away from La Jolla.

 
UP NEXT
The Tritons wrap up their third Division I season on Sunday with a Big West match against UC Riverside. First serve is scheduled for Noon from Northview Tennis Courts. Following the match, UC San Diego will recognize the six graduating members of this year's team.
 
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program began a new era in 2020 as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have earned prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in Divisions I and II.