LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The 12th-ranked USC women's tennis team (17-8) defeated Pac-10 rival
Arizona (10-12), 5-2, to advance to the 2000 NCAA championship quarterfinals. The four-hour
15-minute match at Marks Tennis Stadium this afternoon was the Women of Troy's third victory over
the Wildcats this season.
USC escape with a 4-2 lead after the singles matches which first began with a decisive win
at No. 2 by the Trojans' Veronika Safarova over Arizona's Vanessa Abel, 6-3, 6-1. Jacqui Boyd
followed with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Uzma Khan to give the Women of Troy a 2-0 lead. Not ready to
surrender at court three, Michelle Gough posted a come-from behind victory over Jewel Peterson,
1-6, 6-0, 6-2, that sparked two-straight Arizona wins to tie the score at two apiece.
At center court, Kara Warkentin and Lindsay Blau battled it out in three sets before
Warkentin prevailed with a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 final score. USC was again forced into three sets at
court six before earning the fourth point as freshman Tiffany Brymer defeated Joanna Buczkowska,
6-2, 5-7, 6-1.
Needing only one point to complete the match, the Women of Troy took early leads in each
doubles contest before Jacqui Boyd and Anita Loyola clinched the victory with a 8-3 win at the No.
3 spot.
"I'm extremely happy because it was a very tough match where at a certain point in singles
it could have gone either way," said head coach Richard Gallien. "But as the day got longer we
only got stronger and I was very pleased to see that we were winning in each of the doubles matches
before it ended."
"It was a very emotional match for us because for the three seniors it was our final match
at home," said senior Jacqui Boyd. "We just really wanted to go out in style."
USC will face No. 32 Louisiana State in the quarterfinals to be played Thursday, May 18, in
Malibu, Calif.
Final Score: USC 5, Arizona 2
Singles
(1) Kara Warkentin (USC) vs. Lindsay Blau (Arizona) - -6, 6-3, 6-4
(2) Veronika Safarova (USC) def. Vanessa Abel (Arizona) - 6-3, 6-1
(3) Michelle Gough (Arizona) def. Jewel Peterson (USC) - 1-6, 6-0, 6-2
(4) Jacqui Boyd (USC) def. Uzma Khan (Arizona) - 6-4, 6-4
(5) Laresa Marino (Arizona) def. Anita Loyola (USC) - 7-5, 6-2
(6) Tiffany Brymer (USC) def. Joanna Buczkowska (Arizona) - 6-2, 5-7, 6-1
Doubles
(1) Warkentin/Peterson (USC) vs. Abel/Gough (Arizona) - Incomplete
(2) Brymer/Safarova (USC) vs. Blau/Khan (Arizona) - Incomplete
(3) Loyola/Boyd (USC) def. Marino/Buczkowska (Arizona) - 8-3
