April 12, 2008

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The No. 10 USC women's tennis team tacked up two more home wins this weekend as the Trojans picked up a 6-1 win over visiting Arizona on Saturday afternoon at Marks Stadium. A doubles sweep gave way to five decisive singles wins for the Women of Troy to lift their overall record to 17-6 and Pac-10 mark to 5-2.

The Trojans built some early momentum with a trio of doubles wins, as #6 Fink/Niculescu topped Steinberg/Reitsch 8-4 at the No. 3 position soon after USC's freshman combo of Andrews/Sanchez beat Masschelein/Cox 8-1 at No. 3. With the point decided, Nelson/Kinstler tacked up a 7-6 win over Orletsky/Huh at No. 2 to bring up singles play.

Singles matches went quickly in the heat. USC's Amanda Fink, Gabriela Niculescu, Maria Sanchez, Leyla Entekhabi and Cristala Andrews all blew past their Wildcat opponents at the No. 2 through No. 6 positions, winning in straight sets across the board. At No. 3, Gabriela Niculescu didn't allow Ariane Masschelein to tally a single game as Niculescu tacked up a 6-0, 6-0 win. Meanwhile, Fink, Entekhabi and Andrews each gave up only two games to their respective opponents to help power the Trojans to victory. Arizona's lone point of the match came at the No. 1 position, where #38 Danielle Steinberg held rank over #50 Lindsey Nelson with a 6-0, 6-2 decision.

#10 USC 6, Arizona 1
DOUBLES
(1) #6 Fink/Niculescu (USC) def. Steinberg/Rietsch (ARIZ) - 8-4
(2) Nelson/Kinstler (USC) def. Orletsky/Huh (ARIZ) - 7-6
(3) Andrews/Sanchez (USC) def. Masschelein/Cox (ARIZ) - 8-1
SINGLES
(1) #38 Danielle Steinberg (ARIZ) def. #50 Lindsey Nelson (USC) - 6-0, 6-2
(2) #10 Amanda Fink (USC) def. Claire Rietsch (ARIZ) - 6-1, 6-1
(3) #71 Gabriela Niculescu (USC) def. Ariane Masschelein (ARIZ) - 6-0, 6-0
(4) #115 Maria Sanchez (USC) def. Jane Huh (ARIZ) - 6-2, 6-2
(5) #108 Leyla Entekhabi (USC) def. Katie Orletsky (ARIZ) - 6-1, 6-1
(6) Cristala Andrews (USC) def. Claire Cox (ARIZ) - 6-0, 6-2