Convincing doubles victories help USC top Waves
The No. 9 USC women’s tennis team remained undefeated by capturing its fifth straight win with a 6-1 victory over No. 40 Pepperdine on Thursday afternoon at Marks Stadium.
Attacking · Junior Cristala Andrews (above) combined with freshman Valeria Pulida for a 8-6 win in Women of Troy victory over Pepperdine. - Gary Fung | Daily Trojan
The strong victory came after the Women of Troy got a four-day break from matches after playing four matches in seven days the week prior.
The doubles matchups were fairly close, but by the end, it was USC who grabbed the doubles point. Sophomore Alison Ramos and freshman Danielle Lao set the tone with a quick victory, 8-2. Juniors Maria Sanchez and Lyndsay Kinstler fell behind early at the No. 1 singles slot but were able to comeback from a 4-6 deficit and win 9-7.
Kinstler got the game and match point to clinch the doubles point. Within a few minutes, USC’s freshman Valeria Pulido and junior Cristala Andrews also topped their Pepperdine opponents 8-6.
In the singles scene, USC rather quickly took the first set in four of their six matches. The momentum remained as Ramos dropped just one game against Pepperdine sophomore Ali Walters, winning easily 6-1, 6-0.
Similarly, Pulido had success in her singles match against sophomore Andrea Oates, taking control early and capturing a 6-3, 6-2 win.
USC was unable to complete a sweep, however, as senior Tania Rice of Pepperdine overtook junior Leyla Entekhabi 1-6, 0-6.
At the top singles spot, Sanchez had a harder time handling freshman Arianna Colffer. The first set was close, back and forth throughout, leading to a tiebreaker first set, but it was Sanchez who won.
Sanchez kept pressing Colffer in the second set, playing aggressively with a one set lead and was able to shut Colffer down late in the second set, finishing off a 7-6, 6-3 victory in the final match to finish for the day.
“This was a huge confidence boost,” Andrews said. “We have great momentum going as a team right now.”
The Women of Troy will get an extended break after their convincing victory over the Waves. Their next matches won’t come for another eight days, when they travel to Madison, Wisc. to compete in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association’s National Team Indoor Championships.
USC qualified for the competition at last week’s ITA Kick-Off Weekend, where they beat Auburn and San Diego to receive a bid to the tournament.
“It was nice to get the win when we were a little tired from last week so I think everyone is feeling good and confident for ITA Indoors,” Sanchez said.