JTCC alum and UCLA standout Skylar Morton posing with Federer, Roddick, Sharapova and Williams
Urbana, Ill. – UCLA’s Robin Anderson and Skylar Morton, JTCC alum, are now just one win away from becoming the seventh Bruin duo in school history to claim an NCAA Doubles Championship, as the two sophomores posted a straight-set victory in the NCAA Semifinals on Sunday at the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex in Urbana, Ill.
The unseeded Anderson and Morton, who are ranked 25th nationally, downed 5-8 seeded Alexa Guarachi and Mary Anne Macfarlane of Alabama, 7-5, 6-4 in Sunday’s semifinals.
“We didn’t start out well,” said Skylar. “We were playing more defensive. Then, we got the momentum back because we started being more aggressive at the net. We held on to the momentum, and that’s something you have to do against that team because they’re really good at it.”
A familiar team awaits the Bruin duo in the championship match, as second-seeded Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria of USC also won in straight sets in their half of the draw. Monday’s final is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. (CST) and can be seen live on NCAA.com. Joe Gentry and Harry Cicma will be calling the action from the Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex.
UCLA has had six NCAA Doubles champions, a number that trails only Stanford, which has won eight. The Bruins are seeking their first doubles championship since Tracy Lin and Riza Zalamedawon the event in Tulsa, Okla. in 2008. In addition to Lin and Zalameda, the five other Bruin teams to win doubles titles are: Heather Ludloff and Lynn Lewis (1982), Allyson Cooper and Stella Sampras (1988), Mamie Ceniza and Iwalani McCalla (1992), Keri Phebus and Susie Starrett (1995) and Daniel Bercek and Lauren Fisher (2004).
Monday marks the eighth all-time meeting between Anderson/Morton and Christian/Santamaria. The two teams last met in the semifinals of the NCAA Team Championships in 2012, with Anderson and Morton winning that showdown 8-3. Anderson and Morton lead the head-to-head series 4-3.
