USC maintains perfect record against Fresno State

In its last match before the ITA National Team Indoor championships next week, the USC women’s tennis team defeated Fresno State at Marks Stadium for a fifth consecutive victory.

The Women of Troy have won five straight matches to open up the season, all of which have been sweeps. USC coach Richard Gallien’s group has made the statement that it is a team to be reckoned with early on in the season.

USC easily wrapped up the doubles matches with a slightly different set of pairings this time around. Instead of having two seniors play together, senior Danielle Lao and sophomore Giuliana Olmos were locked into the No. 2 spot, and they took down a Bulldogs’ duo of Melissa McQueen and Anne Susdorf. In the three hole, senior Valeria Pulido was paired with freshman Ellie Yates, and the difference in age did nothing to hinder their play on the court, as the two easily defeated the Fresno State team of Anneka and Sophie Watts.

In the singles portion of the match, No. 17 sophomore Sabrina Santamaria once again shined playing in the top spot. She left Aishwarya Agrawal on zero in both of the sets, winning 6-0, 6-0. Next in line was Olmos, who has garnered much attention early this year. The sophomore made quick work of Bianca Modoc in the third slot with a 6-3, 6-0 win.

Yates clinched the victory with a throttling of FSU’s Anne Susdorf on court five. The freshman was just one game shy of a shutout, but her 6-0, 6-1 win was good enough to seal the match for USC.

With the game in hand, Lao and junior Kaitlyn Christian finished off their opponents in the second and fourth slots, respectively. Pulido and Anneka Watts played the most exciting match of the day on court six, with the third set playing out into a game-deciding tiebreaker. Despite losing the first set, Pulido would pull out the second and then finish off Watts in the tiebreaker 10-4.

Riding a hot streak, the Women of Troy are poised to make a run in the ITA National Team Indoor championships on Feb. 8.