OJAI, Calif. - No. 18 Stanford rallied after a tough doubles point to win four straight in singles and upend No. 16 UCLA 4-1 on Friday evening at the Pac-12 Tournament. The Cardinal advances to face No. 20 Arizona State in the championship on Saturday at 12 p.m. on Pac-12 Network.
Stanford was slow out of the gate, as the Bruins earned wins on courts one and two in doubles to claim the first point of the day. Typical of a tight match, the two squads evenly split first set results in singles, with the Cardinal earning victories on courts three, five and six.
After falling behind 2-0 in the first set, Sara Choy rallied for six straight wins and carried that momentum forward for a 6-2, 6-2 victory on court six, Stanford's first point. Alexandra Yepifanova quickly turned the tables in her match after losing the first set 6-3, responding with 6-2 and 6-3 results to claim the victory on court two against another ranked opponent, pushing her win streak to eight matches.
Angelica Blake had to fight for every point on court three, grinding out a 7-5, 6-4 victory to put Stanford just one win away. Connie Ma and India Houghton each forced third sets in their matches after early deficits, but it was Valencia Xu on court five to provide the clincher, forcing a second-set tiebreak and winning it 7-5 for the victory. This is the third time this season Stanford has lost the doubles point but won the match, also doing so against Arkansas and No. 5 Texas.
Stanford is now 12-1 all-time at the Pac-12 Tournament and is seeking its first championship since 2019. The win is Stanford's first against UCLA since 2019, breaking a three match losing streak.No. 18 Stanford 4, No. 16 UCLA 1
DOUBLES
1. #49 Elysia Bolton/Elise Wagle (UCLA) d. #13 Angelica Blake/Connie Ma (STAN) 6-2
2. #60 Ava Catanzarite/Abbey Forbes (UCLA) d. Sara Choy/Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) 6-3
3. India Houghton/Valencia Xu (STAN) led Kimmi Hance/Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 5-4 DNF
Order of Finish: 1, 2
SINGLES
1. #23 Connie Ma (STAN) vs. #27 Abbey Forbes (UCLA) 2-6, 6-2, 1-5
2. #21 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) d. #53 Elysia Bolton (UCLA) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
3. Angelica Blake (STAN) d. Sasha Vagramov (UCLA) 7-5, 6-4
4. India Houghton (STAN) vs. Kimmi Hance (UCLA) 1-6, 7-6(4), 1-1
5. #109 Valencia Xu (STAN) d. Elise Wagle (UCLA) 6-3, 7-6(5)
6. Sara Choy (STAN) d. Vanessa Ong (UCLA) 6-2, 6-2
Order of Finish: 6, 2, 3, 5