The USC women’s tennis team came roaring out the gates with the Women of Troy Invite that lasted from Friday until Sunday at Marks Tennis Stadium. The Trojans pulled through, winning five of their six doubles matches and seven of their 12 singles matches. 

The crowd was loud and excited — the intensity was amplified since the invite was the Trojans’ last match at home until the new season in the spring. 

“I mean, we love it. We have the best facility on the West Coast as far as I’m concerned,” said Head Coach Alison Swain. “One of the best facilities in all of college tennis. So to play at home, to have friends and family members out cheering us on, we take a lot of pride in that.” 

The Trojans matched up against UC Santa Barbara Friday to kick off the tournament. Trojans got off on the right foot by sweeping their doubles matches. Redshirt juniors McKenna Koenig and Isabelle Lee’s match ended in a 6-0 sweep. Koenig’s chemistry with Lee was noticeable, and their teamwork mounted in the dominant performance. The communication between the two teammates was crucial to their win.

“I thought our energy was really high, and every missed shot we had we just went right towards each other and gave each other a high five and moved on to the next point,” Koenig said. “I think that’s why we did so well this weekend.

USC split its singles matches with Koenig and junior Sloane Morra winning out to close out the Gauchos. Koenig pulled off a deceive tiebreak set, giving her a perfect night. 

The following day USC set off to face the Utah Utes, and started off with a split of the doubles matches. 

Koenig continued her perfect streak in the tournament by handily defeating Utah’s graduate student Ana Luisa Cruz 6-0,6-4.

Morra was treated to another close affair, this time, however, she was unable to pull out the victory, losing in the tiebreaker 10-7. 

“She went 2-1 this weekend with a couple of close matches and just being really competitively focused on playing the style of tennis,” Swain said. “She knows she needs to play to be at her best and that’s what we want to have happen out here.”  

Morra’s energy was contagious and hHer teammates and coaches parroted her intensity post-match. Morra’s tournament ended with her winning two of her three singles matches.

“There was pressure, some ups and downs, but it’s the beginning of the fall, and more importantly, we just like to work together as a team well, to kind of overcome those challenges,” Morra said.

USC finished strong, winning five of its six matches the final day against University of the Pacific, including a sweep of their doubles. Junior Parker Fry and senior Naomi Cheong remained perfect in doubles competition.Fatigue ultimately began to set in for the players. Morra and Koenig, in particular, played many games and had to experience lots of long rallies and close contests. After being the last to finish in Saturday’s match, Morra was the first victor Sunday. Morra was able to cheer her fellow Trojans on and take a breath following an exhausting tournament.

“It’s tough, but I think something as a team that we’re working on is telling ourselves we’re not actually tired, and that it’s just a mindset.” Morra said.

 Koenig’s final match proved to be her first loss, as she fell in a close match. Koenig did not have the same luxury as Morra. Her last match was a brutal tiebreaking marathon finale resulting in a 11-9 loss. Both players have experienced long tournaments before, so the heavy breathing and shaky legs was nothing new to the juniors.

 “We just came back from a tournament in San Diego and it was a lot more matches a day,” Koenig said. “We’re used to it now. Today it was obviously tough, but I think mentally we were tougher, and we overcame that.”   

Koenig ended the tournament winning two of three in singles and sweeping her two doubles.

“I played well, it got better day by day,” Koenig said. “I found my game at the end and I play better when I get support from my teammates, obviously, so it was good.”  

The Trojans will now head to San Diego to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Southwest Regional Championships hosted by the San Diego State Aztecs and UC San Diego Tritons. The competition will run Oct. 19 to 23. It is currently unknown who will compete for the Trojans.