UCLA
USC
UCLA Downs USC in Crosstown Showdown
February 26, 2016 | Women's Tennis
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – Erasing a 2-0 deficit, the No. 29 UCLA women's tennis team rallied to defeat crosstown rival No. 38 USC, 5-2, on Thursday afternoon. With the win, the Bruins improve to 6-3 on the season.
The Trojans put the first point on the board when they captured doubles wins on courts 2 and 3. UCLA's fifth-ranked duo of Catherine Harrison and Kyle McPhillips registered the Bruins' only win in doubles play when they downed eighth-ranked Giuliana Olmos and Gabby Smith, 6-2, on court 1.
In singles play, USC quickly extended its lead to 2-0 with a straight-set win on court 6 as Kelly Shaffer fell to No. 60 Rianna Valdes. UCLA then responded with three straight wins to take the lead. No. 19 Harrison finally put the Bruins on the board when she defeated No. 21 Olmos, 6-4, 6-1, on court 1. Freshman Alaina Miller then took down No. 85 Smith in straights to tie the score at 2-2. McPhillips gave the Bruins their first lead of the match when she edged No. 90 Madison Westby in the second-set tiebreaker.
The match came down to courts 4 and 5, as Kristin Wiley and Terri Fleming battled their crosstown foes. After winning their respective first sets, both Bruins dropped the second to head into a third. Fleming jumped out to an early lead on court 5, and USC's Zoe Katz was unable to keep pace. Fleming broke Katz' serve to take the third set and clinch the match for UCLA.
Fleming breaks Katz and clinches the victory over @USCWomensTennis #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/4c1Ptr06VT
— UCLA Women's Tennis (@uclawtennis) February 26, 2016
Next up, UCLA hosts No. 45 Baylor on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.
#29 UCLA 5, #38 USC 2Feb 25, 2016 at Los Angeles, CA (Los Angeles Tennis Center)
| Doubles competition |
| 1. #5 Harrison/McPhillips (UCLA) def. #8 Olmos/Smith (USC-W) 6-2 |
| 2. Katz/Westby (USC-W) def. Fleming/Shaffer (UCLA) 6-2 |
| 3. Failla/Valdes (USC-W) def. Miller/Wiley (UCLA) 6-4 |
| Singles competition |
| 1. #19 Catherine Harrison (UCLA) def. #21 Giuliana Olmos (USC-W) 6-4, 6-1 |
| 2. Kyle McPhillips (UCLA) def. #90 Madison Westby (USC-W) 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) |
| 3. Alaina Miller (UCLA) def. #85 Gabby Smith (USC-W) 6-2, 6-3 |
| 4. Kristin Wiley (UCLA) def. #66 Jessica Failla (USC-W) 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 7-5 |
| 5. Terri Fleming (UCLA) def. Zoe Katz (USC-W) 7-6 (11-9), 2-6, 6-3 |
| 6. #60 Rianna Valdes (USC-W) def. Kelly Shaffer (UCLA) 6-1, 6-1 |
| Match Notes |
| USC 3-4; National ranking #38 |
| UCLA 6-3; National ranking #29 |
| Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,1,3,2,5,4) |
