Michigan State University Athletics
No. 65 Spartan Women’s Tennis Falls 4-1 To No. 10 UCLA Sunday
3/22/2026 7:26:00 PM | Women's Tennis
MSU women’s tennis fell in a battle-back win to UCLA in a Sunday matinee match.
EAST LANSING, Mich. – No. 65 Michigan State women's tennis fell to No. 10 UCLA in a difficult 4-1 loss in their final home Sunday matinee match of March.
MSU moves to 8-8 in overall play, and 1-5 in Big Ten Conference play after a trialing set of west coast opponents during the weekend.
UCLA advances to 9-5 overall and 3-3 in B1G action.
Play began hot with a trio of Spartan doubles pairings putting the work in against their Bruin opponents.
While the effort was there, the Spartan redshirt-junior/senior duo of Oriana Parkins-Godwin/Issey Purser was downed in a 6-2 defeat.
At No. 3 doubles, a new pairing of sophomore Amara Brahmbhatt and redshirt-junior Hanna Tsitavets triumphed over UCLA's Ahmani Guichard/Kayla Chung 6-3.
Clinching the doubles point for MSU was the No. 57-ranked duo of sophomore Ellie Blackford and senior Matilde Morais, who took down the No. 33-ranked UCLA duo of Olivia Center/Kate Fakih in an upset at No. 1 singles, 6-3.
With a top-35 upset win and the doubles point going in MSU's favor, the Spartans were ready to solidify the match in their favor.
Singles matches began with UCLA seeking to battle back from a tough doubles defeat.
The Bruins were quick to take the lead, securing courts No. 1 and No. 2 almost simultaneously.
Blackford fell first at No. 1 singles against No. 11-ranked Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, 6-2, 6-1. Brahmbhatt followed close behind, dropping her match against No. 46-ranked Mayu Crossley of UCLA, 6-2, 6-4.
Adding the third point to the Bruins' total was No. 119-ranked Bianca Fernandez, who took down MSU's Tsitavets in a 6-0, 6-3 victory.
Clinching the win for UCLA was Olivia Center at No. 6 singles, where she topped Spartan Issey Purser in a 6-3, 6-4 win.
With the match clinched in UCLA's favor, Morais's match at No. 3 singles and Parkins-Godwin's match at No. 5 singles went unfinished.
Up Next
The Spartans take to the road to face Wisconsin on Friday, March 27 at 4 p.m. in Madison, Wis. and continue their road trip on Sunday, March 29 at 1 p.m. against Minnesota in Minneapolis, Minn.
Fans can keep up to date with MSU women's tennis by following them on social media on Instagram, X and Facebook @msu_wtennis.
Tennis Match Results
UCLA vs Michigan State
3/22/2026 at East Lansing, MI
(MSU Indoor Tennis)
#10 UCLA 4, #65 Michigan State 1
Singles competition
1. #11 Anne Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. Ellie Blackford (MSU-W) 6-2, 6-1
2. #46 Mayu Crossley (UCLA) def. Amara Brahmbhatt (MSU-W) 6-2, 6-4
3. Matilde Morais (MSU-W) vs. Kate Fakih (UCLA) 2-6, 6-3, unfinished
4. #119 Bianca Fernandez (UCLA) def. Hanna Tsitavets (MSU-W) 6-0, 6-3
5. O. Parkins-Godwin (MSU-W) vs. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) 4-6, 4-5, unfinished
6. Olivia Center (UCLA) def. Issey Purser (MSU-W) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #57 Ellie Blackford/Matilde Morais (MSU-W) def. #33 Olivia Center/Kate Fakih (UCLA) 6-3
2. Mayu Crossley/Anne Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) def. O. Parkins-Godwin/Issey Purser (MSU-W) 6-2
3. Amara Brahmbhatt/Hanna Tsitavets (MSU-W) def. Ahmani Guichard/Kayla Chung (UCLA) 6-3
Match Notes:
UCLA 9-5; National ranking #10
Michigan State 8-8; National ranking #65
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (1,2,4,6)
T-2:15 A-129
Players Mentioned
