University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Head to NCAA Championships
June 21, 1999 | Women's Tennis
May 18, 1999
THIS WEEK - USC (20-8 overall, 7-1 in the Pac-10) will travel to the NCAA Championships on May 20-23. The No. 10 Women of Troy will face some of the nation's top teams as they compete at the NCAA Championships in Gainesville, Fla.
The University of Florida will be host to 16 of the nations top teams for the NCAAs. On Thursday (May 20), the Women of Troy will face Miami at 5 p.m. EDT. USC is 6-2 in the dual-match series between the teams and has not faced the Hurricanes since 1993. If USC should advance to the quarterfinals on May 21, it would face the winner of the Tennessee vs. Stanford match.
USC finished the regular season in second place in the Pac-10 behind 12-time defending champion Stanford.
RANKINGS - The Women of Troy are currently No. 10 in the ITA rankings. USC is 15-8 against teams that are currently ranked. In the individual rankings, USC has three players in the top 100. Senior Ditta Huber has moved up to No. 5. Junior Jacqui Boyd has jumped up 24 spots to No. 44 in the nation and junior Kara Warkentin is ranked 56th.
USC's doubles team of Huber and Warkentin is currently No. 11 and the duo of senior Karolina Bakalarova and junior Veronika Safarova are ranked at No. 36 in the ITA doubles poll.
NCAA INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT - USC's singles players Ditta Huber, Kara Warkentin and Jacqui Boyd have all been selected to compete in the NCAA Invitiational Tournament in Gainesville, Fla., on May 24-28. The doubles pairing of Huber and Warkentin has also been selected to compete in the NCAA Invitational Championships. The duo of Karolina Bakalarova and Veronika Safarova has been selected as alternate in the doubles competition.
NCAA REGIONAL ACTION - The Women of Troy defeated Drake (May 15) and No. 24 San Diego (May 16) to advance to the NCAA Championships. In second-round action against San Diego, fifth-ranked Ditta Huber upset top-ranked Zuzana Lesenarova of San Diego in three sets, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. Huber was down 3-5 in the third set and won four straight games to earn the victory and clinch the match for USC.
Home sweet home - USC was undefeated at home until April 16 when Stanford snapped the unblemished record with a 6-1 victory over the Women of Troy. USC bounced back, finishing the season with an impressive 14-1 record at home this year in dual matches after taking both matches at the NCAA Regionals hosted on May 15-16 in Marks Tennis Stadium.
Women of troy at ncaas - This will be the 15th trip to the NCAA Championships for the Women of Troy. Out of those 15 trips, USC has advanced past the first round 10 times. USC has won two NCAA team titles (1983 and 1985) and are 22-13 in NCAA Championship dual- matches.
WOMEN'S NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
Ditta Huber - 5-9, Sr., San Diego, Calif.
Senior Ditta Huber, USC's No. 1 singles player, has amassed a 32-15
overall record this season, going 4-3 in the Pac-10, 17-9 in dual-match
play and 23-10 against regional opponents. She is currently ranked fifth in
the nation in the ITA individual rankings, having moved up eight spots from
No. 13 in the previous poll.
This season Huber has posted 14 victories in 29 matches against opponents ranked in the top 50, including a key upset of the current No. 1 ranked player, Zuzana Lesenarova of San Diego on May 16 at the NCAA Regionals. Huber also earned a victory over former No. 2 ranked player, Stanford's Marissa Irvin, on April 3. The experienced Huber has faced tough competition all season long, having played six of the current top 10 players in the nation and 17 opponents who are in the top 50.
At the NCAA Regionals, Huber defeated Drake's Cecily Dubusker, 6-2, 6-2. In the second round, Huber upset No. 1 ranked Zuzana Lesenarova of San Diego, 6-4, 2-6, 7-5. In the third set, Huber battled back from a 3-5 deficit, winning four straight games to earn the victory and clinch the match for USC.
Kara Warkentin - 5-6, Jr., Santa Barbara, Calif.
Junior Kara Warkentin, who has played at the No. 2 position in every dual
match but two, is the Women of Troy's leader in victories with 33 this
season. She has a 33-17 overall record, including a 6-2 Pac-10 mark.
Warkentin is 17-11 in dual matches in 1999 and 22-11 in regional play.
Having been nationally ranked in the top 100 all season long (including as
high as 48th), she is currently No. 56 in the most recent ITA poll.
Warkentin is 12-7 since March 3, and two of those losses were to Stanford's Teryn Ashley, who is ranked seventh in the nation. Her only other conference loss came from UCLA's Annica Cooper (No. 16) on March 3, 7-5, 6-3.
Warkentin defeated Drake's Rajasree Kuruvilla, 6-3, 6-1, at the NCAA Regionals before falling in the second round to Katarina Valkyova of San Diego, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
Jacqui Boyd - 5-6, Jr., Cape Town, South Africa
A starter at the No. 3 spot in the lineup for most of the season, junior
Jacqui Boyd boasts both the highest winning percentage in dual matches on
the team (.821) and in overall matches (.762). She has an undefeated record
in Pac-10 matches this season (8-0). She is 32-10 overall this season,
23-5 in dual matches and 23-6 in regional play. Currently, Boyd is ranked
No. 44, up 24 spots from the previous poll, which is her highest ranking of
the year.
At the No. 3 position in the lineup, Boyd has an impressive 20-4 record. She is USC's hottest player as of late, posting a 16-4 record in individual matches since March 3. Boyd has won six of her last seven matches, including two key victories over Stanford's Gabriela Lastra (No. 51) and California's Anita Kurimay (No. 26) that helped clinch second place in the Pac-10 for USC.
Boyd earned two wins at the NCAA Regionals, including clinching Saturday's match for USC with a win over Drake's Sarah Blain, 6-4, 6-3. On Sunday (May 16), Boyd posted a 6-1, 6-2, victory over Paola Arrangoiz of San Diego.
Karolina Bakalarova - 5-6, Sr., Trebic, Czech Republic
Senior Karolina Bakalarova has competed in the No. 3, 4, 5 and 6 positions
for USC this season. Bakalarova is 22-7 overall, 21-5 in dual matches and
6-2 in the Pac-10. At No. 4, Bakalarova is 6-4. She is 5-0 at No. 5 and
she holds a 9-1 record when playing the No. 6 spot.
Bakalarova holds the second best overall winning percentage on the team in 1999 (.759) and in dual match percentage (.808). Twice this season she has had eight-match winning streaks, the first from Jan. 21-Feb. 19 and the other from March 3-30.
At the NCAA Regionals, Bakalarova defeated Emma Edvardsson of Drake, 6-2, 6-0, in the first round and San Diego's Heather Polumbus, 6-3, 6-1, in the second round.
Veronika Safarova - 5-7, Jr., Brno, Czech Republic
Junior Veronika Safarova has accumulated a 21-12 overall record this
season competing mostly in the No. 4 position in the lineup. She is16-9 in
dual matches and 4-4 in the Pac-10.
Safarova defeated Melissa Emmons of Drake on Saturday (May 15) in the first round of the NCAA Regionals and earned a 6-2, 6-3, victory over San Diego's Krista Manning in the second round.
Krissy Hamilton-Heinberg- Fr., Agoura Hills, Calif.
Freshman Krissy Heinberg-Hamilton has posted a 14-14 overall record playing
in the No. 4, 5 and 6 positions for USC this season. She has an 11-11 dual
match record and is 9-11 in regional play. Both of Hamilton-Heinberg's
matches during the NCAA Regionals were abandoned.
CAROLINE CHRISTIAN - Fr., Frankfurt, Germany
Freshman Caroline Christian, who has played in the No. 6 position for the
Women of Troy, has a 6-7 overall record, finished 1-2 in the Pac-10 and was
6-5 in dual matches.
Doubles Teams
Huber / Warkentin - Ranked No. 11 in the nation, the team of Ditta Huber and Kara Warkentin has had much success this season. The pair's upset of California's No. 4 duo of Amanda Augustus and Amy Jensen on April 17 clinched a second-place finish in the Pac-10 for the Women of Troy and pushed California into third. Huber-Warkentin are 16-11 overall this season and 12-8 in dual matches in 1999. They earned a 4-1 mark in the Pac-10 and have gone 13-8 in regional play. This season Huber and Warkentin have earned six victories in 16 matches against ranked doubles teams.
All of their 27 matches were played in the No. 1 spot in the doubles lineup. They started off the year going 11-2 in doubles play, including a 7-0 start in dual matches at the beginning of the spring season. The nation's No. 2 ranked duo of Teryn Ashley and Marissa Irvin of Stanford handed Huber-Warkentin their only conference defeat of the year on April 16, 8-4.
Bakalarova / Safarova - USC's No. 2 doubles team of Karolina Bakalarova and Veronika Safarova, both of the Czech Republic, are currently ranked 36th in the ITA doubles poll. They have posted a 16-5 overall record this season and a 14-3 mark in dual matches. The duo is 11-4 in regional play and 4-1 in Pac-10 doubles matches.
Bakalarova-Safarova's only conference loss came against Stanford's team of Gabriela Lastra and Lauren Kalvaria on April 16, which was ranked 26th at the time. Two of its other three losses came against higher-ranked opponents and the pair was forced to retire on March 12 against Arizona when Safarova had to forfeit due to a leg injury. Bakalarova-Safarova has the best winning percentage of USC's top four doubles teams (.750).
At the NCAA Regionals, Bakalarova and Safarova earned a victory over San Diego's Arrangoiz and Manning, 8-4.
Boyd / Christian - The No. 3 USC doubles team of Boyd and Christian has collected a 6-6 overall and dual match record. The duo brought their talents together in February, winning five of their first six matches.
