Men’s and women’s tennis begin seasons
Both the USC men’s and women’s tennis teams got off to a hot start this weekend and will look to continue their winning ways this week at the ITA All-American Championships.
Stellar · Junior Jonny Wang (above) and sophomore Max de Vroome won their first-round doubles match at the ITA All-American Championships. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan
The women’s team sent a few players to the Cal Nike Invitational in Berkeley, Calif., while some stayed in Los Angeles to play in the prequalifying rounds of the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships.
Freshman Zoë Katz and senior transfer Brynn Boren were both victorious in their debuts for USC, each reaching the quarterfinals at the Cal Nike Invitational.
Junior Gabriella DeSimone fell in the first round, while sophomore Ellie Yates fell in the Round of 16.
Katz and Yates teamed up in doubles, as did Boren and DeSimone, and both teams advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
Back in Westwood, junior Giuliana Olmos and senior Kaitlyn Christian advanced to the second round of prequalifying singles for the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships, which start this week.
The main draw is set to begin Thursday in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Junior Sabrina Santamaria, the top-ranked women’s singles player in the nation, enters as the favorite to win the tournament. Last year, Santamaria entered the tournament as the No. 5 seed and fell in the second round to now-teammate Boren, who then played for Tennessee.
Boren and junior Zoë Scandalis are listed as alternates at the ITA/Riviera All-American Championships. Both will compete in qualifying rounds if not selected from the alternates list for the main draw. DeSimone will also play in the qualifiers.
In women’s doubles, Christian and Santamaria, last year’s NCAA women’s doubles champions, will play to win in the main draw.
On the men’s side, the team also played well in the opening round of the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Okla.
Four Trojans fought their way through their first qualifying matches on Monday. Senior Michael Grant was the first to punch his ticket to the next qualifying round. His success was mirrored by junior Jonny Wang and sophomore Max de Vroome, both of whom also won their first-round qualifying matches.
Out of 128 qualifiers, eight players will make it into the main draw, which begins Thursday.
Three Trojans are already set to play in the main draw: senior Ray Sarmiento and juniors Roberto Quiroz and Yannick Hanfmann. Sarmiento, who was forced to pull out of last year’s ITA All-American quarterfinals with a calf injury, enters the season at a career-high No. 8 in the country.
Wang and de Vroome will compete together in the doubles qualifiers, while Hanfmann and Johnson are listed as alternates for the main draw.
The talented men’s and women’s teams aim for success in their first big tournaments of the year, which will surely set the tone for the rest of their respective seasons.
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