No. 3 women’s tennis will take on No. 12 UCLA
The Women of Troy will make the short trek across Los Angeles to face cross-town foe UCLA on Wednesday afternoon. USC is currently sporting a No. 3 national ranking to go along with their impressive 10-1 record. UCLA, on the other hand, is ranked at No. 12 and has an 8-2 record thus far in the season.
The USC-UCLA rivalry is one of the most storied in the land, and many athletes have cited their rivalry games against UCLA as the highlights of their collegiate career.
“UCLA is definitely our biggest rival,” senior Sabrina Santamaria said.
As does every athletic team at USC, women’s tennis has unfinished business with their powder blue and gold counterparts.
USC has six players ranked individually in the nation; leading the way is junior Giuliana Olmos with a career-best ranking of No. 17. UCLA also has six players ranked nationally with the highest two being Robin Anderson at No. 3 and Chanelle Van Nguyen at No. 7.
“UCLA is always a fun challenge because this is what makes college sports so fun,” said coach West Nott. “We just try to put the blinders on and focus on what we can control, win or lose, and lay it all on the line mentally.”
Nott is happy with the way the team has been competing and cited “fine-tuning and the best mood to compete” as the main aspects they had focused on leading up to Wednesday’s match.
The two schools played three times in the regular season last year with the Bruins winning all three. After completing the season sweep, UCLA went on to win the NCAA national championship. USC advanced to the third round where they fell to overall No. 1-seed Georgia.
In their quest to defend their title, UCLA will have to play one of the toughest conference and non-conference schedules in the nation. USC has a similarly difficult schedule.
Eight of the 11 teams USC has played have been ranked in the top 30. The other two are No. 41 St. Mary’s and No. 69 Denver.
Of the 10 matches UCLA has played this year, six have been against top-30 teams.
USC and UCLA have faced some similar competition thus far in the season. The teams have overlapped opponents on four occasions leading up to Pac-12 play. Both teams have defeated St. Mary’s, Kentucky and Pepperdine in their respective meetings, twice for USC. However, the big disparity comes in the two So Cal teams’ matches against fellow Pac-12 rival No. 5 Cal. UCLA, then ranked No. 4, fell at Cal 3-4. The Women of Troy, ranked No. 11 at the time, were able to pull off the upset of Cal when they visited the Bay Area defeating them 4-3.
The Women of Troy have been streaking, having won their last six matches, as opposed to the Bruins who have been sinking in the rankings. USC began their quest for a national title with a No. 14 rank. They have steadily climbed the ranks, making pit stops at No. 12, No. 11 and No. 4 on their way to their current ranking of No. 3. UCLA’s season has been a completely opposite trend, with the defending champs opening the season at No. 1 before dropping to No. 4 following a loss to No. 9 Georgia and they’re currently No. 12 after the more recent loss to Cal.
The Women of Troy are looking forward to their rivalry match, but Nott has cautioned against overhyping the match.
“You try not to get too up or down, and just approach it like you always would,” Nott said. “Everyday we are trying to do our best in practice or competing, so it is another day where you challenge yourself to your standards.”
The Trojans will certainly be given a chance to challenge themselves and see their hard work pay dividends in the fight for L.A.
Wednesday’s match will be the second to last for USC before conference play. The UCLA match will air on the Pac-12 Network at 1:30 pm.