Women of Troy look to keep momentum going


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After pocketing a much-needed win last week against Fresno State, the No. 21 USC women’s tennis team is ready to take on some more Pac-10 foes this weekend.

First look · Freshman Valerie Pulido has made a strong impression in her first year with a 21-7 overall record and an 11-4 dual meet record. - Geo Tu | Daily Trojan

First, the Women of Troy (9-6, 1-0) will host the No. 19 Washington Huskies (9-2, 1-1) in a 1:30 p.m. match this afternoon before facing unranked Washington State at noon on Saturday.

The last time the Huskies and the Trojans dueled was in the 2009 NCAA second round, where the Huskies upset the Trojans, handing them a 4-3 loss.

The Women of Troy need these conference wins to help their Pac-10 record, in addition to their team ranking; and they definitely don’t want to fall to the Huskies twice in a row.

“We’re playing the best teams in the Pac-10 coming up, and we’re really hungry to regain our top spot in the Pac-10 and in the country,” sophomore Alison Ramos said.

In the present ITA rankings, junior Maria Sanchez leads USC in singles at the No. 3 rank.

Sanchez currently holds a seven-match win streak and boasts a 12-5 singles record.

Also in the top 25 is Ramos, ranked at No. 20. Following close behind are freshmen Danielle Lao and Valeria Pulido at No. 32 and No. 82, respectively. In doubles, Pulido and Sanchez rank No. 56, while junior Lyndsay Kinstler and Sanchez are ranked at No. 62.

The Washington team, with many nationally ranked players, will provide a big challenge for the Women of Troy. In singles, Denise Dy is No. 6 and Venise Chan is No. 15, and in doubles, Dy and teammate Joyce Ardies are ranked at No. 11.

Even with its dominant win over Fresno State during spring break, USC is still recovering from its latest upset to then-No. 32 Arizona State two weeks ago.

“We came together as a team after the ASU match and discussed what we need to do differently to compete better,” Ramos said. “We made practice more individualized this week in order to work on the specific things we needed to improve upon.”

“We’re doing our absolute best to figure out what’s good for the team right now,” Lao said.

Even though USC lost to Washington the last time the two teams met, it holds an overall record of 16-2 against the Huskies.

“[This] is a big match,” Sanchez said. “We have definitely been waiting a while for this rematch.”