April 29, 2012

OJAI, CALIF. - USC's young-gun doubles tandem of sophomore Kaitlyn Christian and freshman Sabrina Santamaria conspired for an impressive upset of the tournament's top seeds to win the 2012 Pac-12 Doubles Championship today in Ojai, Calif. No. 3 seed and #4-ranked Christian/Santamaria took down Stanford's top-seeded and #2-ranked Burdette/Gibbs with a solid 6-4, 6-4 win to take the Pac-12 trophy.

Christian and Santamaria follow in the footsteps of USC's most recent conference doubles champions Amanda Fink and Gabriella Niculescu, who won back-to-back titles in 2008 and 2009. For Christian, the win was a welcome upgrade from last year's runner-up finish as a freshman in the doubles final. Together, Christian and Santamaria have captured USC's fourth Pac-12 Doubles Championship in program history.

Meanwhile, on the invitational side of the singles play in Ojai, junior Valeria Pulido won her 14th straight singles match in claiming the Pac-12 Invitational title with her 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 comeback effort against freshman teammate Gabriella DeSimone. DeSimone had not given up a single set during her run through the Pac-12 Invitational draw until Pulido stole that second set in today's title match. The Trojan junior would hold on in the third and battle out a 7-5 win to capture the invitational crown.

The Pac-12 champion USC women now await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament seedings to discover where the No. 4-ranked Trojans will open up the tournament, which is set to begin May 11.

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP DOUBLES
Round of 16 - Friday, April 27
[3] #4 Christian/Santamaria (USC) def. Anderson/van Nguyen (UCLA) - 9-7
#54 Pulido/Scandalis (USC) def. Nemcevic/Shimizu (WASH) - 8-1
Lao/Ramos (USC) def. #34 Marks/Smyth (ARIZ) - 9-7

Quarterfinals - Saturday, April 28
[3] #4 Christian/Santamaria (USC) def. Hager/Skowronski (ORE) - 8-2
#54 Pulido/Scandalis (USC) def. [4] #9 Dolehide/Montez (UCLA) - w/o (inj.)
[2] #5 Goransson/Schutting (CAL) def Lao/Ramos (USC) - 9-8 (4)

Semifinals - Saturday, April 28
[3] #4 Christian/Santamaria (USC) def. [2] #5 Goransson/Schutting (CAL) - 8-1
[1] #2 Burdette/Gibbs (STAN) def. #54 Pulido/Scandalis (USC) - 8-3

Championship - Sunday, April 29
[3] #4 Christian/Santamaria (USC) def. [1] #2 Burdette/Gibbs (STAN) -6-4, 6-4

PAC-12 CHAMPIONSHIP SINGLES
Round of 32 -- Thursday, April 26
[6] #13 Zoë Scandalis (USC) def. Samantha Smith (WASH) -- 6-4, 6-2
Patricia Skowronski (ORE) def. #72 Kaitlyn Christian (USC) -- 7-6 (3), 6-0
[8] #28 Sabrina Santamaria (USC) def. Sarah Pham (UTAH) -- 6-0, 6-2
[7] #17 Danielle Lao (USC) def. Julyette Steur (COLO) -- 6-2, 7-5

Round of 16 - Friday, April 27
[6] #13 Zoë Scandalis (USC) def. #52 Anastasia Putilina (UTAH) - 6-1, 6-3
#83 Annie Goransson (CALdef. [8] #28 Sabrina Santamaria (USC) - 6-2, 7-5
#96 Anett Schutting (CAL) def. [7] #17 Danielle Lao (USC) - 6-3, 6-3

Quarterfinals - Saturday, April 28
#57 Stacey Tan (STAN) def. [6] #13 Zoë Scandalis (USC) - 6-4, 6-4

PAC-12 INVITATIONAL SINGLES
Round of 32 -- Thursday, April 26
Alison Ramos (USC) def. Amelia Herring (STAN) -- 6-1, 6-1
[8] Valeria Pulido (USC) def. Stephany Chang (CAL) -- 6-0, 6-0
Gabriella DeSimone (USC) def. [2] Courtney Dolehide (UCLA) -- 6-4, 6-3

Round of 16 - Friday, April 27
[3] Julija Lukac (WASH) def. Alison Ramos (USC) - 6-3, 6-4
[8] Valeria Pulido (USC) def. Debora Castany (ARIZ) - 6-0, 6-1
Gabriella DeSimone (USC)def. Sofia Hager (ORE) - 6-3, 6-3

Quarterfinals - Friday, April 27
[8] Valeria Pulido (USC) def. Olga Musilovich (WSU) - 6-4, 6-2
Gabriella DeSimone (USC) def. [7] Charlotte Koning (WSU) - 6-2, 6-3

Semifinals - Saturday, April 28
[8] Valeria Pulido (USC) def. [8] Leighann Sahagun (ASU) - 6-7 (6), 6-1, 6-3
Gabriella DeSimone (USC) def. [5] Sarah Landsman (ARIZ) - 6-2, 6-2

Championship - Sunday, April 28
[8] Valeria Pulido (USC) def. Gabriella DeSimone (USC) - 3-6, 6-4, 7-5