USC Women Put Last Year’s Loss Behind Them, Gain Quarterfinals

When the USC women’s tennis team defeated Brigham Young, 5-1, in a round-of-16 match at the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. tournament Thursday at UCLA, the 1987 tournament became a fading memory.

Last year, the Trojans suffered a 9-0 first-round loss to Stanford. Previously, USC’s worst NCAA showing had been in 1982, when the Trojans finished fourth.

“That was the worst shellacking we’ve ever had,” said USC Coach Dave Borelli. “I told the girls, ‘Next year we’ll come back and it will be a different situation because we’ll have a lot to prove.’ ”

The only setback for the Trojans occurred in No. 4 singles when BYU’s Mary Beth Young defeated Lupita Novelo, 7-6, 6-2.

In today’s quarterfinals, No. 3-seeded USC will meet No. 6 Kentucky at 10 a.m.; No. 1 Florida will play No. 10 Arizona State; No. 4 UCLA will face No. 5 California at 1 p.m.; and No. 7 Georgia will meet No. 2 Stanford.

Florida beat No. 16 Pepperdine, 5-1, as sophomore Ginger Helgeson recorded the Waves’ only point. At No. 1 singles, Helgeson, the ninth-ranked player, beat Halle Cioffi, 6-3, 6-2. Cioffi is the No. 1 player in the collegiate poll and is ranked No. 36 on the professional tour.

There were no other major upsets as Georgia defeated No. 11 Indiana, 5-4; UCLA beat No. 13 Trinity of Texas, 6-0, and No. 2 Stanford defeated No. 19 Duke, 5-1. Arizona State provided a mild surprise, beating No. 8 Miami, 5-4. The match was decided by a third-set tiebreaker in No. 1 doubles.