Every ranked opponent the Trojans have faced so far have handed them a loss.
USC women’s tennis has yet to lose to an unranked team amid its struggle with ranked opponents. The team is pictured Feb. 14, 2025. (Nika Chen / Daily Trojan file photo)
On Friday, No. 8 USC women’s tennis fell to crosstown rival No. 5 UCLA, 6-1, at Los Angeles Tennis Center.
That loss to the Bruins (6-2) is the Trojans’ (7-4) fourth loss in matches against ranked opponents, a trend they will need to reverse ahead of Big Ten play. Ten other teams in the conference are ranked, and every win against conference competition will be vital.
“In terms of preparation, we know UCLA — they’re local and … we can prepare all [we] want,” Assistant Coach Ben Goldberg said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “There were certainly some bright spots, but by no means are there any moral victories.”
UCLA took the upper hand by sweeping the doubles matchups. USC junior Immi Haddad and senior Emma Charney were shut out early against freshmen Kayla Chung and Mayu Crossley in a 6-2 loss.
Sophomore Jana Hossam and junior Lily Fairclough desperately battled it out against No. 62-ranked sophomores Olivia Center and Kate Fakih, but were ultimately unable to stop the 6-3 loss, securing the doubles point for UCLA.
Goldberg said USC has moved away from starting Hossam and Fairclough and freshmen Krisha Mahendran and Dani Borruel in doubles because of noticeable strengthening pair connections throughout the season. While the new lineup showed fight against UCLA, the change wasn’t enough on Friday.
“I know UCLA, and they have a really tough doubles point,” Goldberg said. “I told [the team] all week what it was going to be like, and if they played passive, [they were] not going to really have a chance out there.”
After a musical number from the Bruin Marching Band, offered as a break as the match transitioned to singles, USC looked strong early but could not close out the series.
No. 32 Hossam battled it out against UCLA senior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer on court one, playing aggressively all around until Lutkemeyer flipped the momentum with strong net approaches on her volleys, and Hossam was unable to respond, concluding in a 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) decision. On court two, USC’s Haddad was defeated by No. 49 Crossley 6-2, 6-4, followed shortly by Bruin junior Bianca Fernandez’s upset over No. 39 Charney 6-4, 6-3.
With these first three singles matches finished, UCLA had already clinched the 4-0 win over USC, marking the team’s second back-to-back loss against ranked opponents. The Trojans didn’t see the scoreboard until No. 89 Trojan freshman Eugenia Zozaya’s win over No. 122 Fakih, but it was their only win of the weekend. Mahendran lost 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 and Borruel suffered an especially brutal 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) tiebreaker loss.
“The main message that we gave them at the end of yesterday, after the match, is [after] two tough losses that you got to stay together,” Goldberg said. “A lot of the goals for the team are still ahead of us. … So you’ve got to keep your head up and be ready to put in the work.”
Despite the loss, USC remains nationally ranked No. 8, trailing close behind No. 5 UCLA, and is currently third out of the Big Ten opponents entering conference play.
To kick off Big Ten play, the Trojans will face off against Minnesota (9-4) on Friday at 2 p.m. at Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis.
