USC women’s tennis set to begin the final month of the season at home


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USC women's tennis freshman Grace Piper at a match
Freshman Grace Piper eyes the ball as she loads up for a backhand during USC’s match against Saint Mary’s in January. Piper and her doubles partner junior Eryn Cayetno are ranked No. 64 in doubles nationally. (Simon Park | Daily Trojan)

No. 21 USC women’s tennis will return to action at home this weekend for conference matches against Washington State Friday and No. 24 Washington Saturday. 

USC’s recent losses came on the road against Pac-12 rivals Stanford and UC Berkeley, who both remain undefeated in conference play. These were the Trojans’ final matches in March, a month that saw them go 4-4 overall. 

Sophomore Naomi Cheong has been a welcomed sight for USC since returning from injury. She entered the ITA rankings for singles last week at No. 78 and currently holds a 6-2 record in singles matches. 

“I want to do my very best to help out the team in any kind of way, whether that’s on-court or off-court,” Cheong said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Being able to compete with other schools and competing with my team, just being able to have the opportunity to play, I’m not really taking it for granted.”

The Trojans began March with a loss to No. 37 Utah, which was their sixth consecutive loss at the time. The team then turned things around after that match as they went on a four-match winning streak. 

As April begins, the Trojans ride a three-match losing streak, with Pac-12 championships right around the corner. 

In their last three losses, USC has consistently given up the doubles point. Because of this, Cheong said that the team emphasized doubles play in practice this week in order to feel less stress when going into singles.

The Trojans will be looking to further spoil a tough stretch for the Cougars Friday, as they have secured two victories since the start of February. On the season, Washington State is 6-10 and has gone 1-6 in road matches. 

Despite this, Cheong said the team is not taking their conference opposition lightly, and they can only assume that the Cougars will play their best.

“Anyone can beat anyone, especially in the Pac 12 conference,” she said. “It’s just who can show up on the court and play better that day.”

USC will then host the Huskies Saturday. Washington sports a 13-5 record on the season, 4-1 against the Pac-12 — its only loss in Pac-12 play coming against Oregon in its most recent match. Before losing to the Ducks, the Huskies rode a six-match win streak, with four of those wins coming against other Pac-12 teams. 

Although Washington has a winning record and ranks No. 24 in the nation, the team does not have any players ranked nationally for either singles or doubles. 

The Huskies, however, have senior Vanessa Wong, who was a part of the 2021 All-Pac-12 First Team and named the ITA Northwest Region Senior Player of the Year last year. Wong also has 109 career singles wins and sits two singles wins away from setting a record at Washington. 

Although the Trojans took a couple of defeats against Pac-12 rivals last weekend, team morale is still high heading this weekend. 

“We have the full trust in each other that everyone will do their best and compete,” Cheong said. “We just know that we have to keep doing what we’re doing to do our best and the results will come.”

The Trojans played five of their eight total matches in March on the road. However, moving forward, USC will be playing at home for seven of its next eight matches. With a 3-3 conference record, two wins this weekend can be pivotal for the team, as they are currently tied with Oregon for fifth place in the Pac-12. 

USC is set to play against Washington State Friday at 1:30 p.m. and Washington Saturday at 1 p.m. in back-to-back home matchups.