Valeria Pulido named Player of the Week


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USC junior Valeria Pulido earned Pac-12 Player of the Week for the first time in her career after clinching the win for No. 4 USC (20-3, 9-1) in its 6-1 upset over No. 1 UCLA (21-2, 8-2) last Friday.

Pulido’s 6-3, 7-5 victory over Kaitlyn Ray on court 6 guaranteed USC a share of the Pac-12 championship for the first time since 2009.

Helping hand · Junior Valeria Pulido won the singles match that ultimately led to the Women of Troy’s victory against top-ranked UCLA. - Chris Roman | Daily Trojan

The victory over UCLA in Westwood snapped USC’s six-game losing streak against the Bruins, who last lost to USC in April 2009.

In USC’s 4-3 win over No. 8 California on April 14, Pulido also captured the winning point with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 finish over Alice Duranteu on court 6.

Pulido now has a seven-match win streak in singles and stands at 5-0 in Pac-12 play and 9-0 in dual matches. She is 10-5 overall this season.

In doubles, Pulido and freshman Zoë Scandalis are 7-2 in Pac-12 play and 18-6 overall as the No. 54 pair in the nation.

Pulido is the fourth Trojan to win Pac-12 Player of the Week this season, joining sophomore Kaitlyn Christian and freshmen Gabriella DeSimone and Scandalis.

USC will now advance to the postseason, starting with the Pac-12 championships in Ojai, Calif.

Three USC players will compete in a 32-player draw for the singles title and one USC duo will contend for the doubles title among 16 teams in the four-day tournament beginning Thursday.