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USC Women’s Tennis Travels to Bay Area to Open Conference Play
March 07, 2018 | Women's Tennis, Features
THIS WEEK
The Women of Troy travel north to the Bay Area this weekend to open conference play with the hope of bringing back two wins over California (March 9 at 1:30 p.m.) and Stanford (March 10 at 12 p.m.).
ORACLE/ITA RANKINGS UPDATES
USC had to cancel its match on March 2 against UCLA due to rain, which left the Women of Troy without a match last week. Without competing last week, the Trojans dropped to the No. 47 team ranking in the nation's latest Oracle/ITA Division I National Rankings released on Tuesday (Mar. 6).
Senior Gabby Smith remains USC's only nationally ranked single player securing the No. 37 spot. Smith is 17-9 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 7-2 throughout the course of the season.
SCOUTING CALIFORNIA
While the California Golden Bears (4-4) are not nationally ranked as a team, they boast four ranked singles players in their lineup: No. 32 Olivia Hauger, No. 35 Anna Bright, No. 63 Karla Popovic and No. 68 Julia Rosenqvist. The Golden Bears are attempting to snap a three-match losing streak. After falling to the Trojans 4-3 in their non-conference match on Feb. 23, California traveled across Los Angeles to the Westside where they lost to UCLA 5-2 on Feb. 24. They also lost 6-1 to No. 2 Pepperdine on March 3. USC holds a 39-36 lead over California in their all-time series dating back to 1981.
SCOUTING STANFORD
The Stanford Cardinal (4-3) ranks just one spot above the Women of Troy at No. 46. No. 17 Michaela Gordon, No. 33 Emily Arbuthnott and No. 70 Melissa Lord headline the Cardinal's roster in addition to the No. 3 doubles pair of Arbuthnott/Gordon. Stanford cancelled their match last week against No. 2 Pepperdine due to rain, but split the previous weekend as they defeated UNLV 6-1 on Feb. 23 and lost to Florida 4-3 on Feb. 24. USC is 21-64 all-time in their series against Stanford.
MAKE-UP MATCH
With an opening in their schedule due the cancellation of the March 2 match against UCLA, the Trojans have added another match in the month of March. USC will take on No. 2 Pepperdine on March 21 at 3:30 p.m at Marks Stadium.
LIVE STATS
Follow along on Twitter and Instagram (@USCWomensTennis) for live in-match updates.
