USC tennis boasts nationally ranked players


The men’s and women’s tennis teams begin their fall seasons with multiple players from each team nationally ranked.

Having won five of the past seven national championships, the men’s tennis team certainly knows what needs to be done to compete for a national title.

Junior Nick Crystal, who was a freshman when the Trojans last brought home the trophy in 2014, is the highest ranked singles player heading into the opening tournament this year. Crystal is ranked No. 42 in the country.

Crystal has improved his highest ranking from last season, when he was No. 45 in the country for a time. Crystal also earned Pac-12 Honorable Mention honors last year. Though Crystal has experience with what it takes to win, there is one Trojan with slightly more experience than him.

The lone senior of this year’s squad is Max de Vroome.

He begins the season ranked No. 61 in the nation in the singles circuit and No. 47 in doubles,  with freshman Jack Jaede playing alongside him as his partner.

Jaede is not the Trojans’ only freshman, but he is one of four newcomers in addition to sophomore Tanner Smith, who is also in his first year at USC.

For the Women of Troy, four players boast career-high singles rankings heading into preseason play.

All-American senior Giuliana Olmos has broken into the top 10 for the first time in her career and owns the No. 10 ranking in the land to start the year. In addition to her All-American honors, Olmos was also awarded All-Pac-12 First Team honors.

The sophomore triumvirate of Madison Westby, Gabby Smith and Meredith Xepoleas have all upgraded their rankings from the highest point of their freshman campaigns. Westby sits at No. 36, Smith at No. 59 and Xepoleas just behind her at No. 61.

Four freshmen are on a very young roster this season, including Rianna Valdes, who has been ranked as the No. 2 freshman in the nation.

Valdes is paired with Olmos for a high-ranking freshman-senior doubles duo at No. 31 in the country. Just above them are Westby and junior Zoë Katz.

The majority of the men and women will open their 2015 campaigns at the Battle in the Bay in San Francisco from Sept. 17-20. Olmos and Smith, however, will play at the Oracle/ITA Masters in Malibu this weekend.

The Women of Troy are looking to reboot their championship hopes after losing to Vanderbilt in the semifinals of the NCAA championships last year. The men lost to Baylor in the quarterfinals of the NCAA championship.