Women’s tennis falls short of UCLA

No. 38 women’s tennis fell to No. 29 UCLA in a non-conference match in Westwood on Thursday and is now 3-4 overall this season heading into conference play.

The Trojans got an early lead by winning the doubles point. On court 2, junior Zoë Katz paired up with sophomore Madison Westby and got the first win of the day over Terri Fleming and Kelly Shaffer with a quick 6-2 win.

On court 1, the Women of Troy were represented by No. 8 senior Giuliana Olmos and sophomore Gabby Smith, while the Bruins (2-5) could count on No. 5 Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips. The Bruins were able to win the match 6-2, leaving the doubles point up for grabs on court 3. There, a duo of freshmen, Jessica Failla and Rianna Valdes got their first win of the season together, battling past Alaina Miller and Kristin Wiley with the final score of 6-4, giving the Women of Troy an early advantage.

In singles, USC was able to extend its lead after a quick win on court 6 by No. 60 Valdes, who beat Shaffer with a double 6-1 in less than an hour. Being down 0-2, the Bruins got on the scoreboard after No. 21 Olmos lost to No. 19 Harrison in straight sets 4-6, 1-6 and started their comeback to victory.

On court three No. 85 Smith fell to Miller 2-6, 3-6, tying the score at 2-2. On court two, McPhillips got the first set with a bagel over No. 90 Westby. The same scenario opened the second set, as the Bruins got up an early break, 2-0. There Westby battled to get the break back and got on the scoreboard. The set went on with both players being close to each other in the score, and it ended with McPhillips beating Westby in the tiebreak, giving UCLA the first lead in the match, one point away from clinching the match.

On court 5, Katz fell short in the first set tiebreak to Fleming, before securing the second set 6-2, bringing the game to a deciding third set, essential for the Trojans to stay in the match. Meanwhile, Failla on court 4 dropped the first set in the tiebreak after being up 5-2 and won the second one 6-3.

On court 5, UCLA managed to win the final set 6-3 clinching the match at 4-2. The action kept going on court 4, and after a long battle Wiley pulled out a 7-5, giving the Bruins a 5-2 lead, finishing the comeback.

Next match marks the beginning of the Pac-12 season, with the Women of Troy taking on the Washington Huskies next Friday at 1:30 p.m. in Marks Stadium followed by another home match against Washington State on Saturday at 12:00 p.m.

The Huskies are 9-4 in non-conference play and the Cougars are currently undefeated with a 12-0 record.