For seniors Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle, Saturday marked a meaningful chapter in their UCLA careers. Playing their final regular-season home match, the duo led No. 19 UCLA women’s tennis (15-7, 10-3 Big Ten) to a dominant 5-0 win over Rutgers (7-14, 1-12) at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
Only about 2% of high school athletes reach the NCAA Division I level—and even fewer play for Power Four programs. Hance and Wagle have proudly held that title for four years, and on Senior Day, they delivered one more standout performance for the Bruins.
Down 5-1 on the top doubles court, No. 18-ranked Hance and Wagle stormed back with six straight games to defeat Rutgers’ Mai Nguyen and Naomi Karki. The win clinched the doubles point for UCLA after No. 6 freshmen Olivia Center and Kate Fakih opened the afternoon with a 6-4 victory over Minchae Kim and Zeynep Ilker.
“I didn’t doubt it for a second,” Hance said. “I knew we were going to be able to get it back.”
Coach Stella Sampras Webster praised the comeback. “It was just so epic how they did end up winning that and clinching it for the team,” she said. “It just made it such a great day.”
With junior No. 26 Anne-Christine Lutkemyer out of the singles lineup, Hance returned to court one and quickly took care of business. She defeated Nguyen 6-1, 6-0 to push UCLA closer to the sweep.
Sophomore Bianca Fernandez, back on the court for the first time since April 11, followed with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Karki.
Then it was Wagle’s turn. For the second straight match, she secured the Bruins’ sweep, this time with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Zuzanna Frankowska. Moments later, sophomore Ahmani Guichard added another point with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Jackeline Lopez.
“I know the team was working together to slow down on other courts to get me to clinch,” Wagle said. “It felt really good, and I’m really proud of everyone.”
While UCLA could still host the opening rounds of the NCAA Championships, depending on their seeding after the Big Ten tournament, there’s a chance this was the last home match for Hance and Wagle.
“It’s everything to finish off my college career like this – it’s really amazing,” said Hance. “I have faith in my team that we’ll do well enough at Big Tens that we’ll be able to play here again.”
Despite the flowers and emotional moments, the season is far from over. UCLA heads to Ojai, California this week for its first-ever appearance in the Big Ten Championships—after decades of competing in the Pac-12 tournament.
“We’ll taper down but still have things we can work on and improve,” said Sampras Webster, noting that the team remains focused heading into the postseason.
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