WOMEN’S TENNIS / NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS : Pepperdine and USC Are Eliminated

USC, Pepperdine and San Diego State were eliminated as the NCAA women’s tennis championships opened Wednesday at Gainesville, Fla.

The Trojans lost to Texas, 5-1, and Arizona eliminated the Waves, 5-4, in second-round matches. San Diego State fell to Mississippi, 5-3, in the first round.

USC (15-9), seeded ninth in the 20-team field, lost four of five singles matches. Carla Quaresma, playing No. 6, gained the Trojans’ only point with a 6-1, 7-5 victory over Ashley Johnson.

No. 5 Texas (22-4) clinched its 3-hour 50-minute match when Susan Gilchrist and Vickie Paynter, the nation’s top-ranked doubles team, defeated Petra Schmitt and Suzanne Italino, 6-1, 6-2.

Alix Creek’s two come-from-behind victories led No. 8 Arizona over No. 10 Pepperdine. Creek, ranked third in singles, defeated Sonya Olejar, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3, and teamed with Michele Oldham for a 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 victory over Merete Stockmann and Nina Eriksson in decisive No. 1 doubles match.

The Waves (16-5) were also hampered because of Stockmann’s absence in the singles. Stockmann, usually No. 2 singles, sat out the singles because of heel injury.

No. 11 UCLA (8-13) begins play today with a second-round match against No. 6 Arizona State (14-9).

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Top-seeded Lucie Ludvigova of Grand Canyon and No. 2 Pam Enkoji of UC Davis will play in the the Division II singles final at Industry Hills Sheraton Resort.

Ludvigova beat third-seeded Melinda Phillips of Cal State Los Angeles, 6-3, 6-4, to raise her record to 26-1. Enkoji beat unseeded Rebecca Huereque of host Cal Poly Pomona, 6-0, 6-0. But Huereque came back in the doubles semifinals, teaming with Tracy Nguyen to defeat No. 2 Ludvigova and Nathalie Bachich, 2-6, 6-3, 6-4.