Women of Troy face off against rival Bruins


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The USC women’s tennis team will return to action on Friday with a matchup against crosstown rival UCLA.

The Women of Troy enter the matchup ranked No. 12 in the nation. Their only losses over the past two seasons have been to top-10 teams, with this year being no different. The Trojans were defeated by top-ranked North Carolina at the ITA National Team Indoor championships in Virginia last month, and suffered a bitter loss at the hands of No. 7 Cal to open up conference play.

A victory over the Bruins would most likely catapult USC back into the top 10, where it spent the entire season before the loss to the Golden Bears.

UCLA enters the game ranked No. 3 nationally with a 9-1 record. The Women of Troy will certainly be looking to issue some level of payback for their last meeting. USC was eliminated by UCLA in last year’s NCAA semifinals in a heartbreaking 4-3 loss.

With such a marquee matchup on the schedule, any team would be remiss to be without some of its major contributors. Luckily for the Trojans, everyone should be healthy and ready to compete against the Bruins.

“I think we’ll have everyone for tomorrow so we’re excited to go,” USC head coach Richard Gallien said.

The Women of Troy enter the game following a win over a San Diego team that USC has historically dominated (26-3). With that kind of history, it would be easy to overlook a 5-2 victory over San Diego, but Gallien certainly did not. In fact, it is theirdominating performance against the Aztecs that has Gallien so optimistic about the matchup with the Bruins.

“The girls won a super gutsy match last week to set this up,” Gallien said. “Our mood is terrific and I fully expect we will play well tomorrow.”

Following the matchup against the Bruins, the Trojans will begin a three-game homestand kicked off by a matchup next Tuesday against the Texas Longhorns. The Women of Troy are undefeated at home this season.

The game in Westwood will begin at 1:30 p.m.