University Southern California Trojans
Women's Tennis Travels To USTA/ITA Championships
February 14, 2000 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 14, 2000
This Week -- No. 12 USC women's tennis prepares for the USTA/ITA National Indoor Team Championships this week (Feb. 17-20) in Madison, Wisc. The nation's premier indoor tournament will host 16 of the top women's teams in the country. Stanford enters the tournament as the top seed, while the Women of Troy are seeded seventh. The Trojans, Cardinal and Golden Bears of Cal will represent the Pac-10.
USC vs. Tennessee -- To begin the tournament, the Trojans are scheduled to face 14th-ranked Tennessee (6-1, 0-0 SEC) on Thursday (Feb. 17) in the first round. USC and Tennessee have only met once in program history. The Trojans defeated the Lady Vols, 7-2, in the first round of the 1990 NCAA championships. If the team advances, the Women of Troy will face the winner of the Georgia-Vanderbilt match. USC and No. 16 Vanderbilt have never met before. No. 4 Georgia owns a 3-0 advantage in the all-time series against the Women of Troy.
Last Year at the Indoor Championships -- In the first round of the 1999 USTA/ITA Team Championships, USC fell to 10th-ranked William & Mary, 5-4. The Trojans continued in the consolation round and defeated #14 Arkansas, 5-4, before falling to #16 Notre Dame, 5-3. Florida won the 1999 event but will not defend the title this season.
The Trojans' Last Outing -- The Women of Troy defeated Pac-10 opponent Oregon, 7-2, in Eugene on Saturday, Feb. 12. Oregon's only singles victory came when Alina Wygonowska dropped the first set, but came back to defeat Kara Warkentin, 6-7, 6-1, 7-6(3). Four of the six singles matches played were decided in the third set. USC's Jewel Peterson defeated Oregon freshman Monika Gieczys in a third-set tiebreaker, 6-1, 4-6, 7-6(5). In doubles play, Anita Loyola and Veronika Safarova defeated Oregon's duo of Alina Wygonowska and Janice Nyland, 8-5, following a 9-8 (3) upset over the Tiffany Brymer and Warkentin at the No. 1 position.
The USC-Pepperdine match, originally scheduled for last Thursday, was rained out and postponed to Wednesday, Feb. 23, at Marks Tennis Stadium.
USC News & Notes -- The Trojans dropped two spots to No. 12 in the Feb. 7 ITA rankings... With the loss to No. 12 ASU, the Women of Troy are 0-1 against ranked opponents... Three of the four Trojans' ranked in the ITA fall rankings are freshman, #4 Peterson, #70 Loyola, #39 Brymer (Doubles)... USC maintained its team ranking, finishing the 1999 season ranked 10th and starting 2000 10th.
Head Coach Richard Gallien -- Richard Gallien enters his fifth season at the helm of the USC women's tennis program. After guiding the 1999 Trojans to a 21-9 overall record, and a quarterfinal appearance at the NCAAs, he was named Pac-10 Co-Coach of the Year. Gallien began his career at Pepperdine, coaching the men's team for three years, before joining the Trojan family. Over the last eight years, he has compiled a 127-70 (.644) overall record and his teams have made four appearances in the NCAA tournament.
