Across its first three tournaments, USC women’s tennis has enjoyed a strong start to its fall season, highlighted by freshman Krisha Mahendran receiving Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week honors on Oct. 1 after a dominant performance in her collegiate debut.

So far, the Trojans have competed at the Battle in the Bay, Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships and the United States Tennis Association’s SoCal Intercollegiate Championships.

Mahendran took home both the singles and doubles titles in her debut weekend at the USTA’s SoCal Intercollegiate Championships in San Diego from Sept. 25–28. Her dominant performance earned her the Big Ten freshman honor along with Wisconsin’s Lucie Urbanova. In an interview with the Daily Trojan, Mahendran said the award boosted her confidence moving forward.

“I was super excited. It meant a lot to me because it’s definitely a big honor, and I didn’t anticipate that I would get it,” Mahendran said. “It was kind of a surprise to me, but it felt really good, and I was really happy to be recognized.” 

Mahendran went 4-0 in singles, reaching the championship final and splitting the singles title with fellow Trojan freshman Eugenia Zozaya. In doubles, Mahendran partnered with sophomore Jana Hossam for the first time, winning four-straight matches and beating the University of Nevada seniors Silvia-Maria Costache and Marlene Foerster, 6-4, in the final round.

Going into the tournament, Mahendran said she was focused on putting a high amount of her first serves in play and playing the way that she had been training instead of adapting to her opponent’s style.

“I was pretty nervous, just because it was my first collegiate tournament, and I didn’t really know what to expect, but I was just trying to focus on the controllables, like my attitude and my energy level,” she said. “I was trying to take it one match at a time and have more smaller goals than looking at the big picture.”

At the same tournament, freshman Dani Borruel lost in the singles round of 32. However, partnered with Zozaya in doubles, the pair made it to the quarterfinals. Sophomore Simone Kay advanced past the round of 32 but ultimately fell in the singles round of 16 to senior Jo-Yee Chan from San Diego State University.

USC had begun its schedule in San Francisco with a strong showing in the Battle in the Bay, which took place from Sept. 11–14. Senior Emma Charney and junior Immi Haddad made it to the singles quarterfinals, while junior Lily Fairclough and Charney led USC to the quarterfinals in doubles.

At the following tournament from Sept. 20–28, ITA All-American Championships in North Carolina, Charney won three straight matches but ultimately fell in the singles quarterfinal. However, she earned her second qualification for the NCAA Singles Championship Tournament, the first for USC this season.

In an interview with the Daily Trojan, Head Coach Alison Swain said, “what our players are doing is not typical; it’s exceptional.”

“We have a really motivated team. I think our team is really coachable. I think they hold a high standard, which they train at, and bring a level of professionalism to the court, which I really appreciate,” Swain said.

She said despite the honors and strength so far, the Trojans are hungry for more. 

“We’re not going to stop. We’re not going to be satisfied. That’s not who we are as a team,” Swain said. “A lot of these girls not only have goals for season, but they have goals beyond, for their future careers in tennis. Getting recognized is always nice, but it doesn’t slow us down. It makes us hungrier, if anything.”

Looking forward, Swain said a big goal of hers will be focusing on the players being the best competitors they can be, both with individual play styles and group performance.

“It means a lot about being gritty, being resilient, how we respond to obstacles along the way, whether that’s on court in a match or off court, and that’s going to be the identity we’re creating as a team,” Swain said.

Next up, USC will head back to San Diego for the ITA Southwest Regional Championships from Oct. 16–21.