USC Women’s Tennis Prepares to Face NC State in NCAA Tournament Round of 16

THIS WEEK
The No. 35 USC women's tennis team continues their pursuit of a national title with a trip to Orlando, Fla. to the USTA National Campus for the NCAA Round of 16. USC will face off against No. 6 ranked (and No. 6 seeded) NC State on Sunday (May 16) at 7 a.m. PT. The Women of Troy look to stay undefeated all-time against the Wolfpack and hope to secure placement in the Quarterfinal Round of the NCAA Tournament.

NCAA NOTES
The Women of Troy hold a 74-35 all-time record in the tournament. USC has won six national championships in all, including NCAA titles in 1983 and 1985 after the NCAA began its women's tennis championships in 1982. USC has won five National Singles Championships (1976 - Barbara Hallquist [USTA], 1977 - Barbara Hallquist [USTA], 1978 - Stacy Margolin [USTA], 1981 - Anna Maria Fernandez [AIAW], 1983 - Beth Herr [NCAA]) and two National Doubles Championships (1980 - Trey Lewis/Anne White [AIAW], 2013 - Kaitlyn Christian/Sabrina Santamaria [NCAA]).

RANKINGS
The Women of Troy entered the NCAA Tournament as the No. 35 ranked team in the country. USC boasts two Trojans in the national singles rankings with junior Salma Ewing locking down the No. 42 spot and sophomore Eryn Cayetano claiming the No. 98 rank. 

SCOUTING NC STATE
The No. 6 ranked North Carolina State Wolfpack are 18-5 on the season. The Wolfpack boasts three ranked singles players: No. 6 Anna Rogers, No. 23 Alana Smith and No. 82 Abigail Rencheli. In doubles, NC State has four ranked pairs: No. 5 Daniel/Reami, No. 12 Smith/Rogers, No. 42 Rencheli/Rajecki and No. 46 Keberle/Rencheli. The Trojans attempt to remain perfect against the Wolfpack, as they are 1-0 against NC State with their last encounter occurring in 2011 in Raleigh, N.C. 

NCAA OPENING ROUNDS
The Trojans opened the NCAA Tournament with a 4-3 victory over No. 22 Oklahoma in the First Round. After the Sooners claimed the doubles point, USC battled back in singles to win a thrilling match as redshirt senior Constance Branstine clinched the match for the Trojans. The following day, the Women of Troy challenged the No. 12 ranked (and No. 11 seeded) Florida Gators. USC claimed the doubles point, and Eryn Cayetano, Clare McKee and Summer Dvorak each took care of business to defeat the Gators 4-1.

INDIVIDUAL ACTION
In the individual action, the Women of Troy will be represented in the NCAA Singles Tournament (May 23-28) in Orlando, Fla. No 42 ranked junior Salma Ewing will be making her second career NCAA Singles Tournament appearance. In 2019, Ewing fell in the First Round. 

Sophomore No. 98 Eryn Cayetano has been named the second alternate to join the field of 64 players in the singles tournament. 

Ewing is ranked No. 53 in the nation in singles and has a 13-5 singles record for the 2021 season. She has the most singles wins of any player on the USC roster. She has collected six wins over ranked opponents, including two in the Top 20. 

Cayetano is ranked No. 109 in singles and holds a 10-5 singles record. She has clinched one match for the Trojans this year and has wins over two nationally ranked opponents. 

WATCH THE TROJANS
All matches at Marks Stadium can be viewed through PlaySight. Please visit USCTrojans.com to watch live streams of the matches as well as view live scoring. . 

If road matches are live streamed, links to the video can be found on the schedule page at USCTrojans.com.

Follow along on Instagram and Twitter @USCWomensTennis for score updates.