University Southern California Trojans
13th-Ranked Women of Troy To Face Pepperdine, SDSU
February 21, 2000 | Women's Tennis
Feb. 21, 2000
This Week -- No. 13 USC women's tennis returns from a 2-1 finish at the USTA/ITA National Indoor Team Championships last week (Feb. 17-20) in Madison, Wisc. The team will prepare to face No. 6 Pepperdine on Wednesday, Feb. 23, in a match originally scheduled on Feb. 10, but rained out. The match will begin at 1:30 p.m. at Marks Tennis Stadium. On Saturday (Feb. 26), the Women of Troy will face San Diego State at 1:30 p.m. in San Diego.
USC vs. Pepperdine -- USC and No. 6 Pepperdine (6-1) will meet for the 36th time in program history on Wednesday (Feb. 23). In the series, the Women of Troy own a 24-11 advantage, but were defeated by the Waves last season, 3-6, in Malibu. Pepperdine is coming off a 4-3 upset win over 7th-ranked Duke in a consolation match of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Team Championships. The Waves defeated New Mexico, 7-1, in the first round, and fell to Wake Forest, 7-0, in the quarterfinals.
USC vs. San Diego State -- USC owns a 28-4 advantage in the all-time series against No. 56 San Diego State (3-1). The team's last meeting was in 1998 as the Women of Troy swept the Aztecs, 7-0, at home. San Diego State is coming off two-straight wins over Long Beach State (Feb. 19) and Loyola Marymount (Feb. 18), by identical 8-1 scores.
The Trojans' Last Outing -- The Women of Troy posted a strong start at the USTA/ITA Team Indoor Championships last week (Feb. 17-20). The Trojans defeated No. 15 Tennessee, 7-1, in the opening round to make their first quarterfinal appearance since 1997. Four of the singles matches played were decided in match tie-breakers (an experimental format being used by the tournament where a tie-breaker - first to 10, win by two - is played in place of a third set). In the quarterfinals, USC fell to No. 4 Georgia, 6-2. Jacqui Boyd and Anita Loyola were the only two Trojans to win their singles matches in the No. 4 and 5 positions. The Women of Troy completed the tournament with a win over Notre Dame, 5-2, in the consolation round. Three of the singles matches were won in tie-breakers, while Boyd and Loyola went 3-0 for the week in singles play.
USC News & Notes -- USC advanced to the USTA/ITA championship quarterfinals for the first time since 1997... The Trojans dropped one spot to No. 13 in the Feb. 23 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 129-71 (.645) overall record and his teams have made four appearances in the NCAA tournament.
