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LOS ANGELES — No. 1 UCLA (32-2) closed out the 2023 regular season in style with a pair of wins over top five teams on Thursday, Apr. 20 at Mapes Beach. The Bruins opened the day with a 4-1 win over crosstown rival No. 3 USC (25-3) and then posted their 18th sweep of the season with a 5-0 win over No. 5 LMU (23-8). The Bruins improved to 16-22 all-time against the Trojans with their second straight win over USC in five days. The Bruins also improved to 17-4 all-time against the Lions.
In the dual against the Trojans, USC’s lone point was scored on court one with the Bruins winning on courts two through five. The Bruins’ pair of graduate student Haley Hallgren and senior Rileigh Powers clinched the dual victory on court three with a 21-17, 21-18 win over Olivia Bakos and Gabby Walker.
In the dual against the Lions, UCLA’s senior Devon Newberry and graduate student Jaden Whitmarsh clinched the win over LMU on court five with a 21-17, 21-13 win over Isabelle Tucker and Madi Firnett.
All nine of the Bruin seniors were honored on “Senior Day” and were sent out in style. The nine included three student staff members, practice manager Sam Kaseff, and student athletic trainers Sarah Blake and Kyle Harvey. The six student-athletes were all graduate students and include Kelli Greene-Agnew, Haley Hallgren, Marlie Monserez, Pani Napoleon, Abby Van Winkle, and Jaden Whitmarsh.
The Bruins return to action next week at the Pac-12 Championship at Stanford. The bracket will be announced soon with first-round action starting on Wednesday, Apr. 26.
No. 1 UCLA def. No. 3 USC, 4-1
Mapes Beach • Los Angeles, Calif.
Thursday, Apr. 20, 2023 • 12:00 PM
Records: UCLA (31-2), USC (25-3)
1. Megan Kraft/Laynie Maple (USC) def. Lexy Denaburg/Maggie Boyd (UCLA) 21-18, 21-15
2. Abby Van Winkle/Peri Brennan (UCLA) def. Audrey Nourse/Nicole Nourse (USC) 21-15, 21-11
3. Haley Hallgren/Rileigh Powers (UCLA) def. Olivia Bakos/Gabby Walker (USC) 21-17, 21-18
4. Marlie Monserez/Jessie Smith (UCLA) def. Madison White/Ashlyn Rasnick-Pope (USC) 21-16, 21-17
5. Devon Newberry/Jaden…
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