Dec. 10, 2012

LOS ANGELES - Zoe Scandalis of women's tennis, Omar Oraby of men's basketball and Ray Sarmiento of men's tennis were named USC Student-Athletes of the Week on Monday, Dec. 10 for the week of Dec. 3-9.

Women's Tennis: Selected to the USA's Master'U BNP Paribas team for the first time, sophomore Zoe Scandalis follows in the footsteps of recent USC star, graduate Maria Sanchez. As a member of the United States squad, Scandalis competed in the seventh annual international collegiate team tournament in Aix-en-Provence, France, Dec. 5-9. The six-player USA team, which also boasted USC junior Ray Sarmiento as one of the three male players on the squad, won the title over Germany. The U.S. team also beat Belgium and Russia in the run-up to the championship against Germany. Against Germany, Scandalis won her singles match in three sets to help the team with the title. Scandalis is USC's highest ranked singles player at No. 7 in the ITA preseason rankings coming off a freshman season that saw her named the ITA National Player to Watch.

Men's Basketball: 7-foot-2 junior center Omar Oraby made his presence known last week for the Trojans as he scored 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting as USC lost to No. 14 Minnesota on Saturday night. The transfer from Rice also added two blocks and pulled down four rebounds in his 22 minutes of work. All of his 15 points came in the second half as USC made a run to catch Minnesota after they pulled out to an early lead in the first half. With 5:41 remaining in the game, an Oraby basket brought the Trojans within single-digits, but they were unable to catch the Golden Gophers, who won 71-57.

Men's Tennis: Junior Ray Sarmiento joined women's tennis sophomore Zoe Scandalis on the USA's Master'U BNP Paribas team for the first time in his career. As one of three male players on the U.S. squad, Sarmiento helped lead the team to the championship in Aix-en-Provence, France, as he won his mixed doubles match against Germany in the final.