USC Women’s Tennis: Trojans Share Spotlight in NCAA Championships

USC Women’s Tennis is looking to rebound, following a tough loss to Stanford in the NCAA Quarterfinals, by sending their top players to the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships.

In what some considered the most thrilling match of the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinal defeated the Women of Troy in a five-four marathon avenging their postseason loss from last season.

Following their loss to the eventual national champions, the Women of Troy take the courts in Urbana Illinois once again, looking to build upon their postseason run. The Women of Troy now send their three best singles players, and it’s second-ranked double tandem to the national competition.

The Trojans have quite the squad heading into Singles play with sophomore Sabrina Santamaria as the number two seed in the tournament. This following her undefeated mark in Pac-12 play, and resultant Pac-12 player of the year award with her 30-4 overall record in singles play shining bright.

Santamaria now has a solid set of four ITA All-American honors to her name, thanks to her run to the NCAA Singles Quarterfinals last season as a freshman. Kaitlyn Christian, who teams with Sabrina on the Pac-12’s top doubles team, will their talent’s to the court on Thursday at the second-seeded doubles tandem.

Zoe Scandalis is the second Trojan representing the singles squad, and was a 2013 All-Pac-12 Second Team pick who reached the Round of 16 last season as a freshman. This season Scandalis is currently ranked No. 27 in the nation in singles and is 20-8 overall in singles to date, with a prime chance to showcase her individual talent on the national stage.

The final singles player for the Trojans are senior Danielle Lao (27-5), who enters the tournament as a middle seed with a third-round matchup looming against Lauren Embree, the nation’s top-ranked player.

Lao, seen on the right in demonstrative form, was awarded the Southwest Regional Senior of the year. The All-Pac first team players has posted strong success in singles, coming off her strong showing at the ITA National Indoor Championships defeating two top-ten opponents in Virginia’s #4 Julia Elbaba and Cal’s #7 Zsofi Susanyi. This tournament will be the last chance for Trojan fans to watch the senior take the court in Cardinal and Gold.

That being said, here is the link to the live-stream coverage of the first round matchup, from the campus of Illinois. Expect a recap on your Trojans later in the day but in the meantime, the full bracket is available here with action concluding on May 27th.

Women of Troy Draw: First Round (May 22nd)

9 a.m. PT – [9-16] Danielle Lao (USC) vs. Breaunna Addison (Texas)11:30 a.m. PT – Zoë Scandalis (USC) vs. Britney Sanders (Notre Dame)3:30 p.m. PT – [2] Sabrina Santamaria (USC) vs. Nazari Urbina (Texas A&M)

Doubles Draw: First Round (May 23rd)

Time TBD – [2] Christian/Santamaria (USC) vs. Abu Mushrefova/Hamilton (Northwestern)