Women of Troy confident heading into tough weekend

After back-to-back wins last weekend, the USC women’s tennis team has pocketed some momentum for the upcoming tournament this weekend.

USC welcomes Auburn, LSU and San Diego to Los Angeles as they host the qualifying rounds for the Intercollegiate Tennis Association National Indoor Championships.

No. 35 Auburn (1-1) and No. 28 LSU (2-0) play first today at 10 a.m., followed by a 2 p.m. matchup between No. 9 USC (2-0) and No. 60 San Diego (1-0). The losing teams play in the consolation match at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, while the winning teams will face each other afterward at 5:30 p.m.

The winner of the later match will go on to play in the ITA National Team Indoor Championships beginning Feb. 12 in Madison, Wis.

The USC women hold a top-10 national ranking and are undefeated after a 6-1 opening win over Long Beach State and another 6-1 victory over UC Irvine to kick off the 2010 season. Four USC women are nationally ranked in singles along with one ranked doubles pair.

With the confidence from their opening matches, the Women of Troy are excited for some ITA action, and this is also their only scheduled game against any East Coast schools.

“We know they’re good,” junior Maria Sanchez said. “We just have to be ready.”