April 14, 2000

LOS ANGELES -- 11th-ranked USC used a pair of three-set wins in singles play to edge Washington State 6-3 in Pac-10 women's tennis action, Friday.

Cougar senior Patrycja Gajdzik (Szczecin, Poland) earned a win at number one singles by defeating Kara Warkentin, the 56th-ranked player in the country, 6-3, 7-5.

Freshman Kathleen Pienaar (Bellville, South Africa) picked up the other singles win for the Cougars with a 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Krissy Hamilton-Helnberg at the number six position.

Pienaar also teamed with junior Moniek van de Ven (Stellenbosch, South Africa) at number three doubles to post an 8-5 win over Caroline Christian and Veronika Safarova.

Junior Ana Maria Moura (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) and van de Ven each lost three-set matches. Moura led 5-4 in the deciding set against 13th-ranked Jewel Peterson before falling 4-6, 6-2, 5-7.

At number five singles, van de Ven captured the first set against Anita Loyola before dropping a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 decision.

"I was very pleased with our singles play," WSU head coach Cari Groce said. "I think today showed a lot about our team. We may be down to six players, but we are still competing at a very high level and playing tough against good teams."

The Cougars play at eighth-ranked UCLA, Saturday at noon.

USC 6, WSU 3
Marks Tennis Stadium
Los Angeles

Singles
1. Patrycja Gadjzik (WSU) def. #56 Kara Warkentin (USC), 6-3, 7-5
2. Veronika Safarova (USC) def. Melissa Pine (WSU), 6-0, 6-4
3 #13 Jewel Peterson def. Ana Maria Moura. (WSU), 6-4, 2-6, 7-5
4. #58 Jacqui Boyd (USC) def. Tamara Filipovic (WSU), 6-2, 7-5
5. Anita Loyola (USC) def. Moniek van de Ven (WSU), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
6. Kathleen Pienaar (WSU) def. Krissy Hamilton-Helnberg, 6-3, 6-3

Doubles
1. Warkentin/Peterson (USC) def. Pine/Filipovic (WSU), 8-1
2. Boyd/Loyola (USC) def. Gadjzik/Moura (WSU), 8-3
3. Pienaar/van de Ven (WSU) def. Christian/Safarova (USC), 8-5