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Power rankings: USC has slight edge in tennis

Senior Hannah James clinches her racket as she attempts to return a volley against Saint Mary’s on March 2. James steps into the No. 4 spot this weekend in place of injured freshman Stephanie Vlad. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)
Senior Hannah James clinches her racket as she attempts to return a volley against Saint Mary’s on March 2. James steps into the No. 4 spot this weekend in place of injured freshman Stephanie Vlad. (Photo by Murphy Bannerman)

There’s a logjam at the top of the Pac-12 women’s tennis ladder.

USC leads the pack but ASU, Cal and Stanford are all within striking distance. UCLA has struggled recently but has the kind of talent that disallows counting them out.

As the season approaches its climax, here’s how the rankings pan out.

 

1. USC (17-2, 6-0 Pac-12)

The women of Troy sit in the drivers seat in the conference. At 17-2, the No. 5 Trojans haven’t lost since late February, including a 4-2 win at No. 3 UCLA. Sophomore Sabrina Santamaria and senior Danielle Lao are ranked second and seventh in the country in singles. The duo of Santamaria and junior Kaitlyn Christian are the country’s No. 1 doubles team.

 

2. ASU (15-1, 5-0 Pac-12)

With 12 straight wins, the No. 22 Sun Devils are the hottest team in the conference, and they’ve done it with their doubles play. ASU gets ahead of teams early and then leans on solid play throughout their lineup to finish teams off. The Sun Devils have a tough remaining schedule, facing No. 6 USC, No. 4 UCLA, No. 14 Stanford and No. 13 Cal in the next two weeks.

 

3. Stanford (11-3, 5-1 Pac-12)

Stanford has also been on a tear of late. The No. 12 Cardinal have won seven of its last eight matches and shut out five of those opponents. Featured wins in the streak were over then-No. 9 Cal (6-1) and then-No. 4 UCLA (4-3). Stanford’s only bad loss of the season was on Feb. 16 to Saint Mary’s 4-3.

What’s left for the Cardinal? Dates with UA, ASU and No. 13 Cal.

 

4. Cal (11-5, 5-1 Pac-12)

Of all of the teams in the Pac-12, No. 11 Cal is the only one that holds a win over conference-leading USC. Unfortunately for the Golden Bears, that win wasn’t a part of the conference schedule, so it doesn’t help their conference standing at all. The Trojans blasted Cal in the in-conference rematch 6-1 on March 29. Cal also played UCLA twice, splitting the series. The Golden Bears lost the non-conference matchup to the Bruins, but won the rematch in-conference when it mattered 4-3.

 

5. UCLA (13-4, 4-2 Pac-12)

The No. 9 Bruins have dropped their last two matches to Stanford and Cal. UCLA already beat Cal earlier in the season. All four of the Bruins’ losses have come against ranked teams, including No. 1 North Carolina on Feb. 22. The Bruins’ early-season success maintains their national ranking through up-and-down results in conference play thus far.

But don’t count the Bruins out, UCLA still have beatable UO and Arizona left to play before facing upstart ASU. The Bruins’ finale against USC could decide who takes home Pac-12 gold.

 

6. Washington (10-8, 2-5 Pac-12)

The Pac-12 hasn’t been kind to the Huskies. No. 6 USC, No. 4 UCLA, No. 18 Cal and No. 20 Stanford crushed the Huskies a combined 27-1 before nearly upsetting No. 21 ASU on Friday. Washington could possibly win its next four matches, three of which are in the Pac-12, but it’ll be too little too late to bring a conference title to Seattle.

 

7. Utah (8-7, 2-5 Pac-12)

At one point, Utah was 7-2 and it looked like the Utes could make a run at the Pac-12. They even won their conference opener against UA. Then they ran into familiar brick walls called USC, UCLA, Cal and Stanford. Utah’s Achilles heel all year has been its play at the No. 4 position. The Utes have won only .182 percent of their matches at No. 4 this season.

 

8. Colorado (7-11, 2-5 Pac-12)

They started from the bottom, and now they’re here. All things considered, this has been a successful season for the Buffaloes. Colorado has already won twice as many conference matches as it won all of last year. On top of that, the Buffaloes have equaled their win total from last season with four more matches left to play.

 

9. UA (9-9, 1-4 Pac-12)

Ninth place probably isn’t what tennis fans in Tucson were expecting. Last season, the Wildcats went 5-5 in Pac-12 play and 15-8 overall. This year, UA is 9-9 overall and a lackluster 1-4 in the Pac-12. Worse yet, the Wildcats still have to play the conference’s top-five teams.

The lone bright spot for the Wildcats has been junior Lacey Smyth. Smyth is currently ranked as the No. 64 singles player in the country and peaked as high as No. 34.

 

10. Oregon (11-6, 1-5 Pac-12)

The Ducks are an impressive 10-1 outside of the conference. In the Pac-12 however, Oregon has dropped five of its last six matches with the lone reprieve coming March 24 in a 5-2 win over UA. Like the Wildcats, Oregon still has Cal, Stanford, UCLA and USC left to play. Sandwiching that unenviable stretch, the Ducks play San Francisco beforehand and then wrap up their season against Santa Clara. Those matches could serve as a silver lining to a rough year in Eugene, Ore.

 

11. Washington State (12-9, 1-6 Pac-12)

A year ago, Washington State finished just below the four powerhouse California schools, now it's the bottom dwellers of the Pac-12. The Cougars’ current state is all the most surprising, considering they started the year 10-2 before going colder than Mt. Rainier in a blizzard. They have lost seven of their past nine matches.

Washington State still has winnable conference matches against Colorado and Utah remaining as well as a showdown with tough in-state rival Washington to close out the year.

 

Reach the reporter at ejsmith7@asu.edu


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