No. 15 USC Women’s Tennis Set For ITA Kickoff Weekend

The No. 15 ranked USC women's tennis team continues the 2022 season with a trip to Waco, Texas for ITA Kickoff Weekend. Baylor will host the event which takes place on Saturday and Sunday (Jan. 28 and 29) at the Bears Hurd Tennis Center. USC opens the weekend by challenging No. 23 Miami on Friday at 9 a.m. PT, and No. 22 Baylor will face Kansas at 12 p.m.

The winners of the two Friday matches will play on Saturday at 2 p.m. with the winner advancing to the National Team Indoor Championships. The losers of Saturday's matches will play in a consolation match on Saturday at 11 a.m.

This is the 13th annual Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Kickoff Weekend, which features 60 teams of the top teams in the nation competing at various facilities across the country.

RESULTS & COVERAGE
Live scoring of the matches will be available here. Follow along on Instagram and Twitter @USCWomensTennis for additional updates.
Playsight and Live Stat links:
Playsight: https://baylorbears.com/sports/2018/9/18/tennis-playsight.aspx
Stats: http://www.sidearmstats.com/baylor/wten/

RANKINGS
The Women of Troy enter this weekend as the No. 15 ranked team in the country (ITA Coaches Poll). USC boasts four Trojans in the national singles rankings with junior Eryn Cayetano topping the rankings at No. 1. Cayetano is the first Trojan to be ranked No. 1 in singles since Sabrina Santamaria on Sept. 6, 2013. Trojan senior Salma Ewing locked in the No. 12 ranking, while newcomer USC redshirt freshman Snow Han secured the No. 39 rank and sophomore Naomi Cheong sits at No. 98.

The Women of Troy also boast two ranked doubles pairs. Ewing/Han earn the No. 23 rank, while Cayetano/Piper hold the No. 26 rank.

LAST SEASON
In 2021, the Women of Troy recorded a 13-11 record and went 5-5 in Pac-12 Conference play. After being selected to compete in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans upset both Oklahoma and Florida in the First and Second Rounds to advance to the Round of 16 where they fell to North Carolina State. Junior Salma Ewing earned placement in the NCAA Singles Tournament where she fell in the First Round. The Trojans finished No. 27 in the country with three singles players nationally ranked.

SCOUTING MIAMI
No. 23 Miami (2-0) held the No. 24 position in each of the first two rankings' releases of 2022, but jumped one place after a pair of 7-0 wins to begin the year. The Hurricanes posted their first sweep last Thursday at FGCU and followed it with a matching result Tuesday at home versus Florida Atlantic. It is the first time since 2016 Miami has posted back-to-back 7-0 triumphs.

SCOUTING BAYLOR
The No. 22 Baylor Bears are 1-1 on the season. While competing at the Bella the Ball Collegiate Invitational, Baylor fell to BYU 3-4, but bounced back with a win over Illinois (6-1). Mel Krywoj and Alicia Herrero Linana each had successful fall seasons as the duo won the ITA Texas Regional before finishing as ITA Fall National semifinalists. The duo earned a No. 4 ranking in the final ITA poll in December. Additionally, Herrero was runner up in singles at the ITA Texas Regional and competed at nationals.

SCOUTING KANSAS
The Kansas Jayhawks are 0-1 this season, suffering a 2-5 loss against Tulsa to open the 2022 season. Redshirt-freshman Maria Titova, who is ranked No. 41 in the country, went 2-0 against Tulsa to lead the way for Kansas in the match.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Eryn Cayetano

Naomi Cheong

Salma Ewing

Snow Han