Women's Tennis | March 30, 2019

The No. 16 USC women's tennis team had its nine-match winning streak snapped on Saturday (March 30) when the Women of Troy fell to the No. 7 ranked Stanford Cardinal in a close 4-3 match. With the loss, the Trojans are now 13-3 on the season and 3-1 in Pac-12 Conference play.
 
Doubles proved to be a battle on all the courts. USC's No. 20 Kulikov/Valdes began with a 2-1 lead over Stanford's No. 12 Lampl/Yee. Court two finished first as the Cardinal pair of No. 18 ranked Arbuthnott/Gordon defeated USC's Weissmann/Willson 6-1. Shortly after, Stanford's No. 41 ranked Lord/Madurawe beat USC's Branstine/Ewing 6-2 on court three. USC's Kulikov/Valdes had a 5-3 lead over their Caridnal opponents, but their match was suspended as Stanford had won the doubles point.
 
USC entered singles at a 0-1 deficit.  Court two was the first to finish as Stanford's No. 47 Melissa Lord beat USC's No. 75T Angela Kulikov 6-2, 6-2.
 
On court six, Trojan Constance Branstine would have the first word of the day for the Women of Troy. Branstine defeated No. 83 Sara Choy 6-4, 6-3 to put the first Trojan point on the board.
 
The Cardinal didn't give up as No. 28 Michaela Gordon beat USC's No. 49 Salma Ewing 6-3, 6-4 on court one.

Trojan No. 124 Danielle Willson notched a win of her own as she defeated Stanford's No. 81 Emma Higuchi 6-3. 6-4 on court five.
 
Eyes turned to court four where Trojan Ana Neffa and Stanford's No. 57 Janice Shin were locked in an epic battle. Neffa held on strong and grinded her opponent to come away victorious with a 6-3, 6-4 win. This win tied up the match at 3-3.
 
The match was now dependent upon the outcome of court three. USC's Rianna Valdes claimed the first set over Stanford's No. 58 Caroline Lampl 6-3. Lampl came back to win the second set 6-3 to force a decisive third set. The two players exchanged games back and forth until the set was tied at 6-6 to force a tiebreaker. The two were tied at 3-3 until Lampl pulled ahead to win 7-4.
 
USC turns its attention to the upcoming week full of matches at Marks Stadium. The Trojans take on Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday (April 2) at 1 p.m. PT, Colorado on Friday (April 5) at 12:30 p.m. PT and Utah on Saturday (April 6) at 12 p.m. PT. USC's match versus Colorado will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. 

#7 Stanford 4, #16 USC 3
March 30, 2019 – Marks Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.   
 
Doubles

1. #20 Kulikov/Valdes (USC) vs. #12 Lampl/Yee (Stan.) – 5-3 susp.
2. #18 Arbuthnott/Gordon (Stan.) def. Weissmann /Willson (USC) – 6-1
3. #41 Lord/Madurawe (Stan.) def. Branstine/Ewing (USC) – 6-2\ 

Order of Finish: 2, 3
Stanford wins doubles point
 
Singles

1. #28 Michaela Gordon (Stan.) def. #49 Salma Ewing (USC) – 6-3, 6-4
2. #47 Melissa Lord (Stan.) def. #75T Angela Kulikov (USC) – 6-2, 6-2
3. Rianna Valdes (USC) vs. #58 Caroline Lampl (Stan.) – 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (4)*
4. Ana Neffa (USC) def. #57 Janice Shin (Stan.) – 6-3, 6-4
5. #124 Danielle Willson (USC) def. #81 Emma Higuchi (Stan.) – 6-3, 6-4
6. Constance Branstine (USC) def. #83 Sara Choy (Stan.) – 6-4, 6-3

Order of Finish: 2, 6, 1, 5, 4, 3*