April 13, 1999

USC MEN'S & WOMEN'S TENNIS WEEKLY NOTES

THIS WEEK

MEN - Friday (April 16) at Stanford, in Palo Alto, CA, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday (April 17) at California, in Berkeley, CA, Noon.

WOMEN - Friday (April 16) vs. Stanford, at Marks Tennis Stadium, 1:30 p.m.; Saturday (April 17) vs. California, at Marks Tennis Stadium, Noon.

USC MEN

THIS WEEK - The No. 11 USC men's tennis team (17-3 overall, 4-1 in the Pacific-10 Conference) closes out the 1999 regular season on the road this weekend against No. 9 Stanford on Friday (April 16) and No. 52 California on Saturday (April 17). The Trojans improved their record to 4-1 in conference play with a pair of victories over No. 15 Washington, 4-3, on Friday (April 9) and unranked Oregon, 7-0, on Saturday (April 10) for USC's fourth shutout of the season.

SCOUTING THE CARDINAL - This weekend's match with Stanford will mark the 150th meeting between the two schools dating back to 1925 ... The Trojans lead the all-time series with the Cardinal 88-61, but have dropped the last six matches to Stanford including a 6-1 defeat at Marks Tennis Stadium on April 3 ... USC hasn't defeated the Cardinal in Palo Alto since 1994 when the Trojans defeated Stanford, 4-3, en route to claiming their 15th national championship.

SCOUTING THE BEARS - USC has won 10 of its last 11 matches with California and owns a 113-25 overall record against the Golden Bears dating back to 1927. The Trojans narrowly defeated Cal earlier this season by a score of 4-3 on April 2 at Marks Tennis Stadium.

CRUNCH TIME - This season, USC has put together some dramatic finishes en route to its 17-3 overall record. In their last eight matches, the Trojans have engineered five 4-3 victories including the program's 1000th victory over Arizona State on March 13. USC is 6-0 in matches that have been decided by point in 1999.

DOUBLE VISION - The Trojans have used 10 different doubles combinations and sport a 47-26 overall record this season. The team of Ryan Moore and Nicholas Rainey are 11-1 overall this season and are 8-0 in dual matches to lead USC, but have not played together since Feb. 17 against San Diego.

USC MEN'S PROBABLE LINEUP

Singles: #1: Patrick Gottesleben (11-9), Jr., Waldorf, Germany; #2: Andrew Park (22-7), Fr., San Marino, Calif.; #3: Roman Kukal (21-10), So., Bratislova, Slovakia; #4: Gregg Hill (11-9), So., Boca Raton, Fla.; #5: Nicholas Rainey (16-7), Fr., Mercer Island, Wash.; #6: Scott Willinski (11-3), Sr., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

Doubles: #1: Gottesleben/Kukal (10-7); #2: Park/Rainey (1-1); #3: Hill/Willinski (1-1)

USC WOMEN

THIS WEEK - The No. 14 Women of Troy (17-7 overall, 6-0 in the Pacific-10 Conference) finish their 1999 regular season with two conference matches at home this weekend. These matches will determine the Pac-10 champion as USC faces No. 5 Stanford (6-0 in the Pac-10) on Friday (April 16) and No. 7 California (5-1 in the Pac-10) on Saturday (April 17). The Women of Troy swept three conference rivals this past weekend in the Pacific Northwest. USC defeated Washington State on Thursday (April 8), 5-1, Washington on Saturday (April 10), 6-2, and Oregon on Sunday (April 11), by the score of 5-1.

RANKINGS - The Women of Troy are currently No. 14 in the ITA rankings. Stanford is No. 5 and California is ranked 7th. In the individual rankings, USC sport three players in the top 100. Senior Ditta Huber is currently No. 20. Junior Kara Warkentin is ranked 53rd and junior Jacqui Boyd is tied for 70th in the nation. USC's doubles team of Huber and Warkentin is currently No. 17.

HOME SWEET HOME - USC looks to continue its success at home when it hosts Stanford and California at Marks Tennis Stadium this weekend. The Women of Troy are undefeated (11-0) at home this year in dual matches. With victories in its last three home matches of the 1998 season, USC is riding a 14-match unbeaten streak at home, dating back to April 9, 1998.

PAC-10 TITLES - The Women of Troy hope to capture the Pac-10 crown for the ninth time in its history and the first time since 1986 this weekend, but defending Pac-10 champion, Stanford, stands in their way. USC has finished with a perfect conference record five times since 1977. Regardless of how the Women of Troy finish this weekend,they are assured of their best conference winning percentage since at least 1988.

USC WOMEN'S PROBABLE LINEUP

Singles: #1: Ditta Huber (25-13), Sr., San Diego, Calif.; #2: Kara Warkentin (30-14), Jr., Santa Barbara, Calif.; #3: Jacqui Boyd (26-9), Jr., Cape Town, South Africa; #4: Karolina Bakalarova (20-4), Sr., Trebic, Czech Republic; #5 Veronika Safarova (15-9), Jr., Brno, Czech Republic ; #6: Krissy Hamilton-Heinberg (14-14), Fr., Agoura Hills, Calif.

Doubles: #1: Huber/Warkentin (15-9); #2: Bakalarova/Safarova (13-3); #3: Boyd/Caroline Christian (6-5)