Women of Troy play in regional contest
After playing in a few tournaments this fall, USC’s men’s and women’s tennis teams are finally falling into their rhythms.
Dominant duo · Senior Kaitlyn Christian is one-half of USC’s most dominant duo, along with junior Sabrina Santamaria. The pair won the national title last year and currently rank as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan
Both teams are gearing up for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional Championships, where they will compete against players from UCLA, San Diego State, Cal Poly, Pepperdine, Hawai’i and other schools from the Southwest.
The women’s tournament will be played in San Diego, Calif. from Oct. 17 to 21.
In last year’s ITA Regional tournament, the Women of Troy claimed the doubles championship when then-seniors Danielle Lao and Valeria Pulido defeated a duo from UCLA.
Though these two have since graduated, the women’s team has continued to impress in doubles.
Junior Sabrina Santamaria and senior Kaitlyn Christian, who won the national championship together last year, are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation by the ITA. But this dominant duo has yet to compete this season, and another has stepped up and impressed.
In their most recent tournament, juniors Zoë Scandalis and Giuliana Olmos fought through the prequalifying and qualifying rounds to finish second in the main draw despite being ranked No. 54 in the nation prior to the competition. Though they fell in the championship match to a pair from UCLA, the team showed great promise and ability to complement the play of Santamaria and Christian.
Last year, the men also dominated the doubles draw in this tournament. Two Trojan teams faced off in the finals, and then-sophomores Eric Johnson and Yannick Hanfmann emerged victorious over then-sophomore Roberto Quiroz and then-freshman Max de Vroome.
This year, Quiroz is set to partner up with senior Ray Sarmiento as the top seed in doubles, while Johnson and de Vroome are seeded fifth.
Despite a surprisingly early defeat in the ITA All-American Championships two weeks ago, Sarmiento enters the tournament as the No. 1 seed in singles.
Though Sarmiento was upset in the third round, senior Michael Grant and junior Jonny Wang pulled off some surprising victories of their own at the ITA All-American Tournament. Grant took down the No. 54 player in the ITA’s preseason poll, while Wang upended the No. 3 player in the nation, earning a high seed this weekend.
Many more Trojans also earned high seeds. Hanfmann has yet to play this season, but was selected as the second seed, while Quiroz is seeded fourth. Wang and Grant are seeded seventh and eighth, respectively, and Johnson earned an eight-seed as well.
The men’s tournament will be hosted in Malibu, Calif. from Oct. 19 to 22.