USC
Pepperdine
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USC Women Begin Three-Match Homestand
March 21, 2018 | Women's Tennis, Features
THIS WEEK
The USC women's tennis team returns home to begin a three-match homestand this week. The Women of Troy will face Pepperdine (March 21), Washington State (March 23) and Washington (March 24).
ORACLE/ITA RANKINGS UPDATES
After defeating conference opponent Oregon last week, USC broke back into the Oracle/ITA National rankings at the No. 41 spot. Senior Gabby Smith remains USC's only nationally ranked single player securing the No. 57 position. Smith is 18-11 on the season with four wins against singles opponents in the Top 14. In doubles, the Trojan tandem of Angela Kulikov and Rianna Valdes hold the No. 43 position. The duo is 9-4 throughout the course of the season.Â
SCOUTING PEPPERDINE
The Pepperdine Waves are the No. 2 team in the nation according to the Oracle/ITA National Rankings. The Waves boast an impressive five singles players who are nationally ranked: No. 12 Mayar Sherif Ahmed, No. 15 Ashley Lahey, No. 25 Luisa Stefani, No. 61 Evgeniya Levashova and No. 95 Laura Gulbe. They also have three doubles pairs nationally ranked: No. 30 Stefani/Ahmed, No. 33 Ahmed/Lahey and No. 70 Milovanovic/Levashova. Pepperdine is 10-1 overall, and they have not yet begun conference play. Most recently, Pepperdine beat Dartmouth 5-2 at home on March 20. USC is 43-15 all-time against the Waves in their series, which dates back to 1977.
SCOUTING WASHINGTON STATE
The Washington State Cougars are ranked No. 39 overall. They have one singles player nationally ranked, No. 43 Michaela Bayerlova. The Cougars are 16-1 overall and 1-0 in conference. They are currently riding a nine-match winning streak. On March 11, Washington State beat Oregon 4-3 and defeated Portland 5-2 on March 12. USC is undefeated against Washington State, holding a 24-0 all-time record since their series began in 1994.
SCOUTIING WASHINGTON
The No. 47 Washington Huskies are 10-6 overall and 0-1 in conference play. Two Husky singles players are nationally ranked: No. 16 Stacey Fung and No. 62 Vanessa Wong. Washington's team also has two doubles pairs ranked: No. 32 Kobayashi/Wong and No. 74 Hance/Slavica. On March 17, the Huskies competed in a double header where they defeated Idaho 5-2 and Seattle 7-0. USC is 22-4 all-time against Washington in their series, which began in 1993.
LIVE STATS
Follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@USCWomensTennis) for live in-match updates.
