USC Women End Losing Streak in First Round of NCAA Tennis

USC ended a five-match losing streak with a 6-2 victory over Kentucky on Wednesday in the first round of the NCAA women’s tennis tournament at Stanford. The 13th-seeded Trojans (8-11) will play No. 1 Florida (26-0) today.

The Trojans began the season with four nonconference victories, but they found the going much tougher after beginning Pacific 10 Conference play. With their five opponents (Arizona, Arizona State, California, Stanford and UCLA) all ranked in the top 10, USC went 1-9 in the conference.

Maggie Simkova and Lisa Allred each won in singles and doubles for USC.

In other first-round matches, No. 14 San Diego State eliminated No. 20 Kansas, 5-4; No. 16 Mississippi advanced with a 5-4 victory over No. 17 University of San Diego and No. 19 William & Mary upset No. 15 Miami, 5-4, becoming the first team from the East region to win an NCAA tournament match.

No. 7 UCLA and No. 12 Pepperdine, among 12 teams with first-round byes, open play today. The Bruins (15-7) face No. 10 Indiana (21-3) and the Waves (16-6) take on No. 6 California (17-7).