THIS WEEK- The No.58-ranked Lions travel across town to face crosstown rivals UCLA and USC this week. LMU will have its work cut out for it as UCLA and USC are ranked No. 27 and No. 8 in the nation, respectively. The Lions wrap up the week hosting Brown University at the LMU Tennis Courts.

JUST BRIEFLY - Loyola Marymount has recorded a 3-2 record in the month of march which includes wins over No. 51 Oregon and No. 75 CS Northridge. Since facing the Lions Oregon has dropped out of the national rankings while CS Northridge has moved up to a tie for 59th.

LIONS IN THE RANKINGS - LMU has jumped to No. 58 in the WingspanBank.com Collegiate Tennis Rankings after debuting at No.69 two weeks ago. The Lions have endured a rigorous schedule this season facing six nationally ranked teams in their last eight matches. It doesn't get any easier for LMU this week as it will battle UCLA and USC who are both ranked among the Top-30 teams in the nation. The Lions' No. 1 doubles team of Andrea Lord and Angelina Zdorovytska fell out of last week's national doubles rankings. The team crashed into the national spotlight earlier in the season with a No. 48 ranking. It was LMU's first doubles team ranking in over 10 years.

MATCH REVIEW - vs. Dartmouth: LMU started off with a bang taking the No. 1 and No. 3 doubles spots. The No. 1 doubles team of Andrea Lord and Angelina Zdorovytska defeated Dartmouth's top team of Sarita Yardi and Carly Bashleben 8-5. LMU's Penka Fileva and Milica Cukulic recorded the second doubles win at the No. 3 spot downing Arden Fredeking and Katie Lopez 8-6. With a 1-0 lead after the doubles competition the Lions roared through singles play winning five of the six spots in straight sets. LMU's Fileva brought home the win at the No. 1 spot defeating Yardi 6-2, 6-2. Lord and Zdorovytska stood strong at the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively. Lord handed Bashleben a 6-1, 6-2 loss while Zdorovytska easily handled Dartmouth's Courtney Smalley 6-1, 6-3. Hollie Freudenberg and Julie Hladik also picked up straight set wins for the Lions. Freudenber, playing at the No. 5 spot defeated Fredeking 6-1, 7-6 and at the No. 6 spot Hladik recorded a 6-3, 6-4 win over Lopez. Cukulic sealed the shutout with a win over Catherine Crandall at the No. 4 spot. Cukulic fell behind after dropping the first set 2-6 but came back to seal the perfect score with 6-3 and 6-2 wins in the next sets.

LMU HEAD COACH - Jamie Sanchez is currently in his 26th season at the helm of the women's tennis program. Sanchez, a 1975 alumni of Loyola Marymount, owns a 340-298 career record with the Lions. He has led the Lions to a top three finish in the West Coast Conference for 13 consecutive years. He brings a wealth of experience and dedication to the LMU tennis program also serving as Head Tennis Professional at the El Segundo Recreation Center. Sanchez is a member of the Loyola Marymount Athletics Hall of Fame and ranks 12th all-time nationally among active coaches with 340 victories.

Scouting This Week's Opponents

Bruins' Bullets - No. 27 UCLA is coming off a huge 4-3 win over No. 22 Arizona last week. The victory snapped a 10-match losing skid for the Bruins. UCLA enters the match against the Lions with a 4-10 overall record. The Bruins are looking to put together consecutive wins for the first time in over a month. The last time UCLA was able to string together a couple of wins was in early February when it began dual competition with three straight wins over Arizona State, Arizona and UC Irvine. The Lions are looking for their first ever win over the Bruins. UCLA owns an 8-0 series advantage.

Trojans' Tidbits - No. 8 USC will be looking to break a losing skid of its own when it faces LMU this week. The Trojans have dropped their last two matches falling at Arizona (1-6) and at Pepperdine (3-4). USC, 12-5 overall/1-1 Pacific-10, has not lost more than two straight all season. The Trojans are led by Jewel Peterson who is currently ranked No. 27 in the nation. Peterson has posted an impressive 23-9 record so far this season. Again the Lions will be looking for their first win against the Trojans in program history. USC leads the series 9-0.

Bears' Breakdown - Brown University will meet the Lions with a 5-4 overall record. The Bears recently recorded a 5-2 win over University of the Pacific to move above the .500 mark. Brown will compete in two matches prior matching up against the Lions. The Bears face Southwest Missouri State and Cal Poly Pomona before traveling to Los Angeles. The series between the Lions and the Bears is knotted at 4-4. LMU won the last meeting 7-2.