The No. 1 ranked Women of Troy headed south to the dry desert to face theNo. 41 ranked Arizona Wildcats and the No. 23 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils last weekend. USC escaped the desert still undefeated in Pac-12 play while extending its win streak to eight consecutive matches, putting them at an impressive 18-2 on the season. USC aced its first test against Arizona on Friday as the Women of Troy won the first five points of the match before losing the last two matches of the day. The match began close as doubles duos Gabby Smith/Madison Westby and Giuliana Olmos/Zoe Scandalis both barely pulled off 8-6, 8-7 victories respectively to secure the doubles point for USC. Freshman Madison Westby, Meredith Xepoleas and sophomore Zoe Katz all jumped out to early 6-0 leads in the first set of their singles matches ultimately leading the Women of Troy to victory and extending their win streak to seven.
Against the Sun Devils, the Women of Troy rebounded after losing the doubles point to win three straight singles matches with No. 11 ranked Giuliana Olmos clinching the victory for USC. Freshman superstar Gabby Smith swung the momentum back into the hands of the Women of Troy by shutting out her opponent 6-0, 6-0 to start off singles play. She was followed by victories from No. 49 Zoe Scandalis and No. 73 Madison Westby before Olmos finally clinched the USC victory over ASU with a 6-2, 7-5 defeat of Stephani Vlad.
The No. 64 ranked freshman sensation Gabby Smith earned Pac-12 Player of the Week honors for her performance this weekend in the desert heat. She ground out a tough victory on Friday to help secure the doubles point before winning both her matches, including a singles shutout on Saturday against ASU. This recognition is Smith's first ever selection as Pac-12 Player of the Week and the Women of Troy's fifth player this season.Â
USC looks to protect its record and extend its winning streak this weekend as it hosts Utah at 1:30p.m on Friday and Colorado at noon on Saturday.
