No. 4 USC women's tennis is so loaded with talent that head coach Richard Gallien could field a top team by picking his lineup out of a hat. That strategy might prove simpler than the difficult task ahead for the head coach who needs to rank three elite singles players on a match-by-match basis.
"We have got three girls right now that are all deserving of playing No. 1 and none of which should be at No. 3," Gallien said of his daily quandary. "We're going to be as flexible as we can. Especially early in the season, we'll give each of them a crack at the top and go from there."
The superstar trio consists of Danielle Lao, Zoe Scandalis and Sabrina Santamaria. All three have a legitimate case to be No. 1.
(Photo of Lao by John McGillen)
Lao is the veteran of the bunch. The senior has the highest ITA ranking at No. 14. In Wednesday's season opening sweep of UC Irvine, she was the first to get a crack at the top singles spot.
Scandalis primarily held the position last year as a freshman. She went 14-9 playing No. 1 singles on a team that reached the Final Four.
Santamaria sported a sterling 21-2 record as a freshman. She also advanced the furthest in the 2012 NCAA singles tournament as a quarterfinalist.
While the top three players are interchangeable, Gallien explained that the team goes eight deep with nothing but quality players. The internal push for lineup spots will make everybody better.
"The competition from a whole team standpoint is crucial," the head coach said. "The challenge for me is to get everybody enough playing time to stay sharp. The lineup is not the most important thing as long as we're winning."
College tennis is an individual sport within a team concept. Gallien has used the example of Jimmy Connors, who played No. 3 singles for UCLA as a freshman, to illustrate his point of self-sacrifice. However, he is also sure to note that Connors still won the NCAA singles title that season, so he wants his Trojans pushing for the ultimate goal no matter where they line up.
"The girls have been really mature about it," Gallien said about the rotation plan. "The team overall is in a very healthy frame of mind."
"We have got three girls right now that are all deserving of playing No. 1 and none of which should be at No. 3," Gallien said of his daily quandary. "We're going to be as flexible as we can. Especially early in the season, we'll give each of them a crack at the top and go from there."The superstar trio consists of Danielle Lao, Zoe Scandalis and Sabrina Santamaria. All three have a legitimate case to be No. 1.
(Photo of Lao by John McGillen)
Lao is the veteran of the bunch. The senior has the highest ITA ranking at No. 14. In Wednesday's season opening sweep of UC Irvine, she was the first to get a crack at the top singles spot.
Scandalis primarily held the position last year as a freshman. She went 14-9 playing No. 1 singles on a team that reached the Final Four.
Santamaria sported a sterling 21-2 record as a freshman. She also advanced the furthest in the 2012 NCAA singles tournament as a quarterfinalist.
While the top three players are interchangeable, Gallien explained that the team goes eight deep with nothing but quality players. The internal push for lineup spots will make everybody better.
"The competition from a whole team standpoint is crucial," the head coach said. "The challenge for me is to get everybody enough playing time to stay sharp. The lineup is not the most important thing as long as we're winning."
College tennis is an individual sport within a team concept. Gallien has used the example of Jimmy Connors, who played No. 3 singles for UCLA as a freshman, to illustrate his point of self-sacrifice. However, he is also sure to note that Connors still won the NCAA singles title that season, so he wants his Trojans pushing for the ultimate goal no matter where they line up.
"The girls have been really mature about it," Gallien said about the rotation plan. "The team overall is in a very healthy frame of mind."
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