Pac-12 announces tennis players of the week

SAN FRANCISCO - USC senior Eric Johnson and Trojan freshman Meredith Xepoleas were named the Pac-12 Men’s and Women’s Tennis Players of the Week for play from Mar. 16-22, the Conference office announced today.

Johnson (San Jose, Calif.) kept his win streak alive, improving his run to 11-straight singles victories with a winning weekend in Indian Wells, Calif. The senior won three singles matches at the BNP Paribas Collegiate Tennis Challenge, where the Trojans finished third in the competitive tournament. All three of Johnson’s matches were straight-set sweeps, including a 6-3, 7-5 win over the 36th-ranked Max Tchoutakian of Baylor. The Trojans went 2-1 to finish third, with wins over No. 20 Tulsa and No. 29 Columbia and a loss to No. 3 Baylor. Johnson now holds a 17-7 overall singles record and is 13-1 in dual-match play, while USC is 14-3 overall. 

Xepoleas (Rancho Mirage, Calif.) came up big for the Trojans in two wins over top-10 opponents to stay perfect in Pac-12 play. The freshman, ranked 83rd nationally, began her weekend with an upset victory over No. 34 Lynn Chi, battling to a 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3 victory that clinched the 4-3 victory for No. 7 USC over No. 3 California. The next day, Xepoleas served up a 6-0, 6-1 singles victory to put USC up 3-0 against No. 10 Stanford en route to the Trojans’ 6-1 victory over the Cardinal. She has now won five-straight singles matches to stand at 17-8 overall ont he year. The Trojans are now 14-2 overall and 3-0 in Pac-12 play. 

It marks the second-career weekly selection for Johnson, who earned the honor for the first time earlier this season. It is Xepoleas’ first-career weekly honor. USC now holds 44 men’s weekly honors and 33 women’s weekly honors all-time. 

The USC men begin Pac-12 play, hosting Washington on Friday, Mar. 27 and Oregon on Saturday, Mar. 28. The USC women hit the road to play at Oregon on Friday and at Washington on Saturday. For more information, including a full schedule, visit www.pac-12.com.

Also Nominated
Men: Oskar Wikberg, CAL. 
Women: Lauren Marker, ARIZ; Denise Starr, CAL; Marlou Kluiving, ORE; Robin Anderson, UCLA; Tereza Bekerova, UTAH.

2015 PAC-12 TENNIS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK