Three Women of Troy have undefeated weekends


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With USC junior Maria Sanchez in New Haven, Conn. for the ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships last weekend, three of the six other members of the USC women’s tennis team had undefeated weekends.

Senior Sarah Fansler upended her competition at the Duel in the Desert in Palm Springs, Calif., knocking out four players from the University of Texas-Austin. In the opening round, Fansler fell in the first set to Maggie Mello, but came back and crushed Mello in the last two sets.

Three’s company · Senior Sarah Fansler was one of three Women of Troy who swept their matches at the Duel in the Desert in Palm Springs, Calif. Fansler defeated four players from the University of Texas-Austin. - Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan

Three’s company · Senior Sarah Fansler was one of three Women of Troy who swept their matches at the Duel in the Desert in Palm Springs, Calif. Fansler defeated four players from the University of Texas-Austin. - Eric Wolfe | Daily Trojan

Fansler beat the next two Texas players in two-set matches before ousting Sarah Lancaster during the final round of Flight 1 in a close match, which consisted of a 10-point tie breaker in lieu of the third set, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 1-0 (10-6).

Junior Leyla Entekhabi also defeated three players from Texas. She sped through first two rounds in two-set matches and then posted a 7-6 (6), 4-6, 6-3 victory over Amanda Craddock.

At the same time, freshman Valeria Pulido took down her first opponent from Northwestern in a 6-1, 6-1 match, while the next three came from Texas as well. Pulido outlasted her opponents in close two-set matches and defeated her final opponent, Caroline Larsson, in three sets, 6-2, 4-6, 6-1.

Junior Cristala Andrews tallied two victories, while sophomore Alison Ramos and junior Lyndsay Kinstler each came out with one win.

On the doubles scene, Andrews and Entekhabi pulled out a win, while Kinstler and Pulido and Fansler and Ramos each came away with a split on the doubles courts.

On the East Coast at Yale University, Sanchez faced her first opponent on Thursday and posted a 6-2, 6-3 win over Miami’s Laura Vallverdu.

The next day, in the round of 16, Sanchez fought in a tough three-set match against Anastasia Petukhova of Fresno State.

The unseeded Petukhova had already upset the No. 1 seed the previous day. Sanchez topped Petukhova in the first set, but fell short of a quarterfinal bid, losing to Petukhova, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

This weekend marked the end of fall competition before a two-month break that precedes the start of the 2010 spring season, which will consist mostly of team competition.

“It is a totally different feeling playing for your team and instead of just for yourself. It creates a very different atmosphere,” Entekhabi said.

Last spring, the team took home its first Pac-10 Championship.

“I really enjoy playing against the Pac-10, because it’s more than just winning and losing. Pride is always on the line when we play against our toughest rivals,” Ramos said.

USC also finished 21-3 overall after making a run to the NCAA second round, which placed the team ninth in the nation last year.

“Sure, winning the Pac-10 title again would be amazing and of course we think about that, but we are just going to take it one match at a time and not focus too far ahead in the future,” Entekhabi said.

USC resumes competition in mid-January, when half the team will head to the Las Vegas Invitational and the other half to the Palm Springs Invitational.