No. 1 USC will play in Pac-12 tournament


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After capturing Pac-12 team championship with an undefeated season, No. 2 Women of Troy will travel to Ojai, California to compete in the individual Pac-12 tournament, which will take place from April 21 through April 25. This tournament’s format differs slightly as USC will be competing individually to win the Pac-12 singles and Pac-12 doubles titles.

“You’re not playing for your team anymore,” sophomore Zoë Katz said. “You’re still wearing your uniform though, and excited next to your teammates.”

The team is not concerned about the sudden change in dynamic. Competing individually is something all of the girls have done, and most of them are used to playing against girls that they know or are friends with.

“We kind of know how to switch on and off that competitive and friend relationship,” Katz said.

Though the players will be competing individually, they still want to represent their school and their team as well as they can.

“Everybody wants to do well there,” freshman Gabby Smith said. “I think everybody is thinking about the team in the back of their mind and everyone just wants to play good tennis.”

The Pac-12 is an extremely competitive conference and as such, the Women of Troy will face significant opposition throughout the duration of the tournament.

The highest-ranked doubles team for USC is the tandem of senior Zoë Scandalis and junior Giuliana Olmos who are ranked No. 17 overall. The two have combined for a 14-6 record.

On the singles side of play, two players have cracked the top 25. Olmos is the top Trojan with a national ranking of No. 13. Just behind her is Santamaria. The former No. 1 player has been steadily climbing the rankings following a season-ending injury last year. She is currently ranked No. 19 in the country.

The tournament will be a test for USC in order to see where they stack up against some of the top players in the country. Though it’s certainly an opportunity to gain success, the individual tournament comes second to the team’s goals for the season, which in this case is an NCAA championship.

“The whole weekend is going to be really good competition,” Katz said. “It’s going to help all of us going into NCAAs which is exactly what we need.”

The team is still raking in the excitement from its win over rival UCLA.  The win ended an undefeated Pac-12 season and a regular season in which the Women of Troy were only beaten twice.

Freshman Madison Westby was named Pac-12 Player of the Week for her deciding role in the match against UCLA. This is the second time Westby has received the honor this season.

No. 78 Westby capped an unbelievable come-from-behind win for USC over No. 28 Kyle McPhillips of UCLA with a final score of 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-4. The win was also the sixth consecutive for Westby who has an impressive 22-7 record overall this season.