The crowd at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium traded cheers through Friday afternoon.

But now, the Bruin and Trojan faithful held their breath.

One swing of a racket and No. 67 senior Elise Wagle’s volley landed just wide of the baseline, shattering a tension-filled silence.

USC (6-2) burst into screams and piled onto the court after downing UCLA women’s tennis (5-3) by a score of 4-3 in a dual-match that was one of the closest the crosstown foes have ever seen.

“On both sides, everyone competed very, very well,” said No. 52 freshman Kate Fakih. “This is what the rivalry is all about.”

In the singles match that ultimately decided the Bruins’ fate, Wagle – once trailing 4-0 to No. 73 Imogen Haddad – forced a first set tiebreaker and won 7-6(5).

But Haddad necessitated a third set after winning the second frame 7-5.

A final set turned into a tiebreaker that would determine the victor, with neither Wagle nor Haddad leading by more than a game until the very end – the latter walking away with the win 7-6(6).

Wagle and Haddad’s battle that started under the California sun ended under stadium floodlights after lasting well over three hours.

“It just sucks to lose,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “But that last match was really fun to watch. It was just really high-level tennis.”

Friday began with UCLA – the only program with two top-15 doubles teams – dropping the doubles point for just the second time this season.

No. 90 sophomore Ahmani Guichard and junior Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer’s 6-1 fall to Emma Charney and Parker Fry, followed by No. 12 senior Kimmi Hance and Wagle’s 6-2 defeat at the hands of No. 8 Lily Fairclough and Grace Piper, allowed the Trojans to the scoreboard first.

“We take pride in our doubles, and for some reason USC just really took over,” Sampras Webster said. “We got to get back to the drawing board there.”

No. 16 Lutkemeyer, however, evened the score – defeating No. 47 Grace Piper 6-2, 6-4 on court one.

And No. 52 Fakih followed with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Fairclough to put UCLA in the lead.

“I was just excited to play my first rivalry match,” Fakih said. “I’ve never felt the energy like this. It’s cool to be on enemy territory, being almost the villains.”

Fakih – who was awarded Big Ten Freshman of the Week for the third time March 5 as the only player to grace the list more than once – moved to 8-0 in dual-match singles competition and has won seven in straight sets.

But USC evened the score at two when No. 118 Jana Hossom Saleh swept Guichard 6-0, 7-6(4).

Bianca Fernandez, making just her third appearance in 2025, forced Maia Sung to a third set but ultimately granted USC a 3-2 lead after the UCLA sophomore fell 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Meanwhile, Center was left off the singles lineup for the first time this season.

With No. 100 Hance trailing 6-5 in the third set, UCLA was at risk for dropping its final three singles matches for a second consecutive time after doing so against then-unranked San Diego State on March 1.

And with No. 56 Emma Charney up 40-30, USC was a volley away from sending the Bruins home. Charney’s teammates cheered so loud that the referee issued a bench player harassment warning.

But Hance forced a tiebreaker and won her final regular-season singles match at USC 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(3).

“We had to take a long look in the mirror last week and see what we needed to do better,” Hance said. “Our energy today was definitely a shift from our energy last week.”

While Hance tied the scoreboard at three – for the fourth time in five road games – UCLA couldn’t cross the finish line, extending its losing streak on the road to 1-4.

“Against ‘SC, it’s always anyone’s match,” Sampras Webster said. “If we lose focus during a match where we let up a little bit, these players will take advantage – and then you get into a little war.”

But Homer wrote that the Trojans don’t win the war – the Bruins will get their chance at revenge come April 16 at the Los Angeles Tennis Center.

“We’re going to get them at home,” Hance said.