No. 10 USC Women's Tennis Set for ITA National Team Indoor Championship
The No. 10 USC Women's Tennis team is set for the 35th annual ITA (Intercollegiate Tennis Association) Division I National Team Indoor Championship. The 16-team event will be held Friday, Feb. 11 through Monday, Feb. 14 at the Nielsen Tennis Stadium on the campus of the University of Wisconsin.
The No. 10 Women of Troy (5-0) will face No. 1 Texas (5-0) in a Round of 16 match on Friday, Feb. 11 at 4:30 p.m. PT. Quarterfinal-round matches will be played on Saturday, Feb. 12, while the semifinals are set for Sunday, Feb. 13.
The top eight teams are seeded 1-8 with the remaining eight teams assigned an opponent through a draft by the top eight seeds. As a single-elimination tournament, teams will play one match each day with the Championship Match set for Monday, Feb. 14 at Noon CT. All teams are guaranteed to play at least three matches over the weekend through either the main or consolation draw.
A PlaySight live stream, as well as Tennis-Ticker live scoring, will be available for every match at the 2022 Division I Women's Indoor Championship. In addition, Cracked Racquets will provide broadcast coverage of the event via its "Red Zone" format, with on-site commentary. The broadcast will be available on Cracked Racquets' youTube channel.
RANKINGS
The Women of Troy enter this weekend as the No. 10 ranked team in the country (ITA Coaches Poll). USC boasts four Trojans in the national singles rankings with junior Eryn Cayetano topping the rankings at No. 1. Cayetano is the first Trojan to be ranked No. 1 in singles since Sabrina Santamaria on Sept. 6, 2013. Trojan senior Salma Ewing locked in the No. 12 ranking, while newcomer USC redshirt freshman Snow Han secured the No. 39 rank and sophomore Naomi Cheong sits at No. 98.
The Women of Troy also boast two ranked doubles pairs. Ewing/Han earn the No. 23 rank, while Cayetano/Piper hold the No. 26 rank.
LAST SEASON
In 2021, the Women of Troy recorded a 13-11 record and went 5-5 in Pac-12 Conference play. After being selected to compete in the 2021 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans upset both Oklahoma and Florida in the First and Second Rounds to advance to the Round of 16 where they fell to North Carolina State. Junior Salma Ewing earned placement in the NCAA Singles Tournament where she fell in the First Round. The Trojans finished No. 27 in the country with three singles players nationally ranked.
SCOUTING TEXAS
The top-ranked Longhorns enter this weekend with a record of 5-0. Two UT players are included in the current ITA national Top 125 singles rankings (Dec. 8): Kylie Collins (No. 40) and Malaika Rapolu (No. 117). A pair of Longhorns are also tabbed in the current ITA national Top 60 doubles rankings (Dec. 8): Charlotte Chavatipon and Kylie Collins. Texas enters Friday's contest sporting a 29-match win streak. Texas closed its 2021 NCAA Championship run by winning its final 24 matches of the year. UT's last loss came in a 4-3 thriller to then-No. 1 North Carolina in the championship match of the ITA Indoor Championship on Feb. 7, 2021.
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