The Oregon women’s tennis team is in the middle of a stretch that pits it against five teams in the nation’s top 26.
The Ducks (13-4 overall, 2-3 Pacific-10 Conference) have a 1-2 record so far with No. 4 Southern California and No. 13 UCLA visiting Eugene this weekend.
USC (13-1, 5-0) has won seven straight matches, including a 4-3 victory over UCLA on March 9 and a 6-1 victory over No. 19 Washington on March 12. The Trojans’ lone loss this season came against defending national champion Stanford in a 5-2 loss in Palo Alto, Calif., on Feb. 26. The loss did not count toward their Pac-10 record. USC will get another shot at downing Stanford on April 8 in what could amount to the nation’s biggest women’s tennis match this season.
Before the Trojans travel north to play the Ducks, they will host No. 18 Harvard (8-5) today at 1:30 p.m. The match will mark the eighth meeting between the two teams, with the Trojans holding a 7-0 series advantage. The last time the two teams met was five years ago, when USC defeated Harvard 7-1 in Los Angeles, Calif.
With no seniors and just one junior on the team, the Trojans are led by a combination of eight freshmen and sophomores — six of whom are California natives. Leading the youth movement are freshman Lindsey Nelson and sophomore Anca Anastasiu, who have teamed up to compile an 11-0 doubles record at the No. 2 position in the lineup. That record has helped them to a No. 34 national ranking as a doubles tandem. In singles, the duo has combined for a 26-2 record.
UCLA (11-4, 4-1), which the Ducks battle at noon Saturday at
the Student Tennis Center, has won five straight matches, including a
5-2 victory over Washington in Seattle on March 11.
The Bruins’ last two victories came against the Arizona schools on the road last week. UCLA defeated No. 47 Arizona 5-2 on March 25 and handled Arizona State 5-2 the next day.
However, the third-ranked doubles team of Daniela Bercek and Riza
Zalameda had their seven-match winning streak broken by Arizona State’s No. 21-ranked duo of Sabrina Capannolo and Jessica Leith, 9-7. The streak dated back to Feb. 25 when Bercek and Zalameda took out 10th-ranked Alice Barnes and Erin Burdette of Stanford 9-8 (8). The UCLA duo’s doubles record still stands at an impressive 24-4 this season.
In singles, sophomore Alex McGoodwin’s six-match winning streak was also broken in the Bruins’ victory over Arizona State. During the streak, the 20-year-old McGoodwin dropped just one set.