DALLAS (SMU) – Senior Liza Buss won a second-set tiebreaker over No. 20 Salma Ewing at No. 1 singles to secure a 4-3 win for SMU women's tennis over USC inside the Brookshire Family Pavilion at the SMU Tennis Complex Saturday afternoon.

With the match tied at 3-3, Buss broke serve at 6-5 in the second set to force the tiebreak, where she won the first five points en route to a 7-3 win to defeat Ewing 6-3, 7-6 (3). Buss is 4-2 against ranked opponents this season.

With their second straight win, the Mustangs improved to 2-3 on the season while the Trojans, who are receiving votes in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association poll, fell to 3-1.

USC won three straight singles matches to take a 3-2 lead, but senior Vivienne Kulicke beat Angela Kulikov 7-6 (3), 6-3 at No. 2 singles to tie the match at 3-3. Kulicke, who holds a team-best 14-4 singles record, used great volley play at the net on match point to clinch her third straight win.

The Mustangs opened the day with a strong showing in doubles. Kulicke and senior Ana Perez-Lopez beat the duo of Ewing and Estella Jaeger 6-2 at the No. 2 position. Senior Karina Traxler and junior Tiffany Hollebeck then clinched the match with a 6-4 win over Becca Weissmann and Constance Branstine at No. 3. After a crucial break point at 3-3, Traxler played a clever lob over the hard-charging Trojans to win the match.

Traxler and Hollebeck have won seven straight doubles matches and hold a team-best 8-1 doubles record. Traxler individually has been a part of a team-high 14 doubles victories this season.

Senior Anzhelika Shapovalova doubled the SMU lead at 2-0 with a dominant victory at No. 3 singles, beating Rianna Valdes 6-1, 6-0. Shapovalova is now 6-1 in singles this season.

The Mustangs return to the court on Sunday, Feb. 10 when they host Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at the SMU Tennis Complex at 4 p.m.

SMU 4, USC 3 (Feb. 9, 2019)
DOUBLES
1. No. 18 Valdes/Kulikov (USC) led Buss/Shapovalova (SMU) 5-3, unfinished
2. Kulicke/Perez-Lopez (SMU) def. Ewing/Jaeger (USC) 6-2
3. Hollebeck/Traxler (SMU) def. Weissmann/Branstine (USC) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2,3

SINGLES
1. Liza Buss (SMU) def. No. 20 Salma Ewing (USC) 6-3, 7-6 (3)
2. Vivienne Kulicke (SMU) def. Angela Kulikov (USC) 7-6 (3), 6-3
3. Anzhelika Shapovalova (SMU) def. Rianna Valdes (USC) 6-1, 6-0
4. Becca Weissmann (USC) def. Ana Perez-Lopez (SMU) 7-5, 6-1
5. No. 86 Danielle Willson (USC) def. Karina Traxler (SMU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Constance Branstine (USC) def. Nicole Petchey (SMU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1
Order of Finish: 3,5,4,6,2,1