Women of Troy sweep San Diego State

The USC women’s tennis team kicked off one of its busiest weeks of play Wednesday, sweeping the San Diego State Aztecs at Marks Stadium, 7-0.

The No. 17 Women of Troy rebounded from a loss during the second round of the ITA Kick-Off tournament against No. 8 Michigan, but it did not stop them from sweeping away the competition.

Starting off strong · Senior Maria Sanchez helped lead the Women of Troy to victory in the first of three matches played at home this week. - Daily Trojan file photo

USC started the dual meet strongly and won the doubles point.

The duo of sophomore Danielle Lao and senior Lyndsay Kinstler stepped up, defeating their Aztec opponents 8-2.

Playing at the No. 3 spot, Kinstler and Lao were the first to finish their doubles match and helped set the precedent for the rest of the meet.

Senior Maria Sanchez and freshman Kaitlyn Christian, ranked No. 80, also beat their opponents 8-6.

The No. 11 doubles pair of junior Alison Ramos and sophomore Valeria Pulido lost their match, but that was the only defeat the Trojans saw in the entire competition.

Ramos and Pulido fought hard against the doubles team of Alicia Aguilar and Julia Wais of San Diego State, but came up short 6-8.

“We didn’t play that well in doubles, except for No. 3 [Kinstler and Lao], but we knew we didn’t play our best,” Ramos said. “[Coach] Richard definitely pushed us and said, ‘You know what, stay positive and compete hard,’ and that’s exactly what we did.”

The team certainly did bounce back after doubles play to go on and sweep the singles competition.

Near the end of singles play, Sanchez, ranked No. 3 nationally, and her opponent were the last pair standing.

With the score 5-0 in favor of USC, Sanchez closed out the match, defeating the Aztecs’ Julia Trunk 6-3, 6-3.

“[SDSU] played very well in doubles and gave us far more trouble than I think we were ready for,” said USC coach Richard Gallien. “We did win the doubles point, but it wasn’t our best showing of the season.”

Sanchez saw the win against SDSU as a positive sign for the team, which has some tough competitions coming up this week.

“[This victory] will give us some momentum heading into Thursday, especially after coming off a loss against Michigan,” Sanchez said. “It gives us a little bit of confidence. I don’t think anyone felt great today but it will only get better as the week goes on.”

With one win under its belt this week, USC now faces the task of competing against two tough opponents.

The Women of Troy will face the University of South Florida Thursday at 1:30 p.m. at Marks Stadium, and No. 22 Texas on Sunday at noon.

Gallien is optimistic about Thursday, not only about how play will unfold, but also about fan turnout.

“Overall I think the girls are doing great,” he said. “I expect a very good performance Thursday against a tough team.”