Women’s tennis braces for the Bruins

With almost identical seasons, USC women’s tennis prepares to challenge rival UCLA.

By SOPHIA AINSWORTH

March 6, 2025

1778C6FE-FDA4-40DC-A7FD-449FD1470AB8_1_201_a

Sophomore Immi Haddad pictured in a winning singles match against Pepperdine opponent Alexia Harmon last weekend. (Christina Chkarboul / Daily Trojan)

It’s seven games into the season, and women’s tennis has tapped into its fighting spirit, securing a commendable five wins and two losses so far this spring. Looking forward, the team is bracing itself to face UCLA on Friday at home.

As the Bruins (5-3) are USC’s most notorious rival, the Trojans have much to prove in this matchup. USC is toying with the possibility of a redemption arc three years in the making.

If the Trojans pull out a win, this would be a defining moment for the current set of players, as USC hasn’t beaten the Bruins since Spring 2022. Most recently, the Trojans faced UCLA last spring and lost convincingly both times, suffering 5-2 and 4-2 losses.

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

Trojan junior Emma Charney had a stellar season last year, when she was named to the All-Pac-12 First Team and won 30 of 44 matches she played. Back in action this weekend, Charney is currently on an impressive five-match win streak in singles. She is ranked No. 56 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association and will surely have many eyes on her as USC takes on its Westwood rivals.

Charney’s collaboration with her frequent doubles partner senior Parker Fry has also been extremely successful. The duo has won against Texas (8-4), the University of Pennsylvania (5-5), the University of San Diego (5-7), UC Berkeley (2-4) and Pepperdine (5-7). No. 20 Pepperdine has beaten the Trojans several times in recent years in singles, but Charney and Fry’s prowess in doubles was enough to overcome the Waves.

While sophomore Immi Haddad was expected to fit into the doubles slot alongside Charney, the Charney-Fry duo seems to be having much success in comparison to the Charney-Haddad pairing, which has only won five sets. Head Coach Allison Swain’s decision to pair Charney and Fry together has paid off in a big way.

While senior Trojan Grace Piper, ranked No. 47 by ITA, contributed heavily to USC’s win total with 10 victories in the fall, Piper has seemed to plateau. Out of the six matches she’s played this spring, she has split wins and losses equally — not carrying over her impressive fall form.

At UCLA, freshman Olivia Center has dominated her first season under Head Coach Stella Sampras Webster. However, she recently lost two straight against Pepperdine and San Diego State (6-4), the latter being a team that USC has beaten in recent history.

The Bruins have won five and lost three this season, putting their record just slightly behind the Trojans. In the case of a Bruin victory, UCLA would surpass USC in the Big Ten rankings.

USC began the season ranked No. 17 nationally but has continued to fluctuate. The Trojans’ unstable positioning in the Big Ten bracket has been exemplified by their inability to remain in a given seed. The Trojans were ranked No. 15 just under three weeks ago but have since sunk deeper into the hole of the season.

Currently, USC sits at No. 30 but could fall further in the instance of a loss against the Bruins. The Trojans must leave the tournament with the win if they want to once again rise in team rankings before the Big Ten Tournament.

USC will take on UCLA at Marks Tennis Stadium this Friday at 2 p.m., hoping to pull out a decisive win to set the Trojans in the right direction this season.

DONATION PLUG – PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH

Thank you for reading the Daily Trojan.

We are the only independent newspaper here at USC, run at every level by students. That means we aren’t tied down by any other interests but those of readers like you: the students, faculty, staff and South Central residents that together make up the USC community.

Independence is a double-edged sword: We have a unique lens into the University’s actions and policies, and can hold powerful figures accountable when others cannot. But that also means our budget is severely limited. We’re already spread thin as we compensate the writers, photographers, artists, designers and editors whose incredible work you see in our paper; as we work to revamp and expand our digital presence, we now have additional staff making podcasts, videos, webpages, our first ever magazine and social media content, who are at risk of being unable to receive the support they deserve.

We are therefore indebted to readers like you, who, by supporting us, help keep our paper independent, free and widely accessible.

Please consider supporting us. Even $1 goes a long way in supporting our work; if you are able, you can also support us with monthly, or even annual, donations. Thank you.

Donate