Women's Tennis
    No. 3 USC Women Silence No. 35 Utah
    Women of Troy win 7-0 in their first visit to Utah.
    Kaitlyn Christian got the clincher for USC today in a powerful comeback.
    Kaitlyn Christian got the clincher for USC today in a powerful comeback.

    March 23, 2012

    SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The No. 3 USC women's tennis team served up a shut out of host Utah in the Trojans' first-ever trip to Salt Lake City to open up a 2-0 record in Pac-12 action on the year. Now 13-2 overall, USC saw a smooth sweep of the No. 35 host Utes in today's conference clash between the two teams, clinched by a powerful 5-6, 6-0, 6-0 singles comeback effort by sophomore Kaitlyn Christian on court four.

    The Trojans rolled through doubles action after #49 Pulido/Scandalis kick-started the winning day with an 8-3 win on court two. USC's top pair of #4 Christian/Santamaria stayed strong with an 8-6 win at the No. 1 spot, and USC had its 1-0 win in the books just before Lao/Ramo wrapped up their Utah opponents 8-4 on court three to move into singles play.

    The bottom of the lineup was the spark in singles. Senior Alison Ramos made short work of Sammie Watson on court six with a 6-3, 6-2 win for a lift to 2-0 for the Trojans in the match. Gabriella DeSimone set USC up for victory next with her 6-4, 6-0 win at the No. 5 position, while #65 Kaitlyn Christian was shrugging off a first-set slip-up and hitting the cruise control by not giving up a single game in the next to sets for her 5-7, 6-0, 6-0 clincher. At the No. 1 spot, Zoe Scandalis also had dipped in the first set before rallying back to victory. The #21 freshman finished off #63 Anastasia Putilina with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback that made it a 5-0 USC lead. Meanwhile, second-set tiebreakers led into 10-point tiebreaks to decide the remaining matches on courts two and three. Both Women of Troy proved resilient en route to victory. First, #18 Danielle Lao recovered from a tough loss in the second set to win her No. 2 singles match vs. Sarah Pham 6-3, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (10-5). And #31 Sabrina Santamaria also flipped a winning switch in the final stretch to beat Callie Craig 2-6, 7-6 (1), 1-0 (10-2) and wrap up the shutout for the Women of Troy.

     

     

    USC now takes a trip to Boulder for action in another new city. The Trojans face Colorado at 11:30 a.m. MT on Sunday (March 25).

    #3 USC 7, #35 Utah 0
    March 23, 2012 -- Salt Lake City, Utah
    DOUBLES
    (1) #4 Christian/Santamaria (USC) def. Putilina/Craig (UTAH) -- 8-6
    (2) #49 Pulido/Scandalis (USC) def. Kovarcikova/Flores (UTAH) -- 8-3
    (3) Lao/Ramos (USC) def. Pham/Watson (UTAH) -- 8-4
    USC wins doubles point.
    Order of finish: 2, 1, 3
    SINGLES
    (1) #21 Zoë Scandalis (USC) def. #63 Anastasia Putilina (UTAH) -- 4-6, 6-1, 6-4
    (2) #18 Danielle Lao (USC) def. Sarah Pham (UTAH) -- 6-3, 6-7 (4), 1-0 (10-5)
    (3) #31 Sabrina Santamaria (USC) def. Callie Craig (UTAH) -- 2-6, 7-6 (1), 1-0 (10-2)
    (4) #65 Kaitlyn Christian (USC) def. Danielle Flores (UTAH) -- 5-7, 6-0, 6-0*
    (5) Gabriella DeSimone (USC) def. Lucia Kovarcikova (UTAH) -- 6-4, 6-0
    (6) Alison Ramos (USC) def. Sammie Watson (UTAH) -- 6-3, 6-2
    Order of finish: 6, 5, 4*, 1, 2, 3