USC takes on UCLA with conference crown at stake

With just one final hurdle to clear before the postseason begins, the USC women’s tennis team, which sits at No. 5 in the nation, puts its perfect 9-0 Pac-12 record on the line today at Marks Stadium against crosstown rival UCLA.

“We’re doing great with everyone healthy and ready to go,” USC head coach Richard Gallien said. “We will be at our best and try to stay the hunter against the hunted. We love to beat UCLA, but we also love to beat Cal and Cal State Northridge, so we try to not make it too personal because that is when players start to get tight.”

The Women of Troy have not lost since Feb. 23 against Cal and have steamrolled through conference foes ever since. But their 20-2 overall record will be put to the test against the No. 7 Bruins (16-4, 7-2 Pac-12). UCLA will be looking to exact revenge against USC after the Bruins’ 4-2 loss at home on March 8 extended the Women of Troy’s winning streak.

Despite USC having wrapped up at least a share of the  regular-season Pac-12 title, this match takes on greater importance when you consider the bad blood between the two schools. USC has not defeated the Bruins in back-to-back matches since 2006, adding an extra incentive to play well in the season’s final regular-season match.

The Women of Troy will look to extend their winning streak to a season-high 13 matches and keep their unblemished home record intact.

Led by No. 2-ranked sophomore Sabrina Santamaria and No. 8-ranked senior Danielle Lao, USC faces an equally tough challenge across the net, as the Bruins boast five players ranked nationally in singles play.

Santamaria’s likely opponent will be No. 3 Robin Anderson, and the two look to face off against each other on court one during both the singles and doubles’ portion of the match. Junior Kaitlyn Christian and Santamaria remain undefeated in doubles play, despite the fact that they recently dropped to No. 2 in the nation, and they will match up against the No. 19-ranked tandem of Anderson and Skylar Morton.

Though Christian and Santamaria remain focused on playing rather than on their ranking, Gallien was displeased with the decision to drop them a spot.

“[Their drop to No. 2] is inexplicable, and I think if you even ask the Georgia team that is ahead of them, they won’t have an explanation,” Gallien said. “Kaitlyn and Sabrina won two national championships this fall, though, and they will continue to play strong tennis and lead our doubles.”

The top half of the singles lineup for USC will once again be depended upon to set the tone of the match, just as it did in the team’s 4-2 win earlier in the season. Santamaria, Lao and sophomore Zoë Scandalis, who is ranked No. 30 in the country, all won their matches handily in USC’s last meeting with UCLA.

Junior Gabriella DeSimone also showed resiliency in her March 8 meeting, as she went on to defeat UCLA’s Chanelle Van Nguyen in three sets after losing the first set 6-0.

In uncharacteristic fashion, USC dropped the doubles point in its last match against UCLA and may be looking to make a few changes heading into this bout.

“We may tinker with our doubles lineups moving forward,” Gallien said. “But whoever we throw out there will be ready to fight and play hard.”

With a win over UCLA, USC would clinch its second straight Pac-12 title after sharing the crown with Stanford last season. A victory would also give the team its first outright conference championship since 2009.

After last year’s performance against the Bruins, which not only included losses in three of four matches but also saw UCLA knock USC out of the NCAA tournament, a sweep of the season series would be a boon for a USC team looking to build momentum as it heads into postseason play.

“Our girls are excited, and I don’t need to throw fuel on the fire to get them excited for this match,” Gallien said.