This post was updated April 15 at 6:14 p.m.

They’re neck-and-neck in the Big Ten with the regular season reaching its end.

And they’re both on their longest respective win streaks of 2025.

What more could be asked of a crosstown showdown?

Winner of five in a row, No. 19 UCLA women’s tennis (12-7, 7-3 Big Ten) will return home to the Los Angeles Tennis Center to face No. 16 USC (13-5, 7-3), which has won its last four, on Wednesday. UCLA will continue its final homestand of the regular season Friday and Saturday, dueling Maryland (14-9, 7-4) and Rutgers (7-12, 1-10) respectively, for the first time in program history.

“We’re going to be excited to play at home and have our band and have a great atmosphere,” said coach Stella Sampras Webster. “The team that handles the big moments well will be successful.”

The Trojans triumphed 4-3 in March 7’s matchup at David X. Marks Tennis Stadium. Notably, the Bruins dropped the doubles point – something they’ve only done once in their 10 matches since.

No. 6 freshmen Olivia Center and Kate Fakih reached a career-high No. 2 doubles ranking April 8 and have gone undefeated in their two matches since.

The tandem – who have played alongside one another since the age of 10 – have found success all season long, finishing as the NCAA doubles runners-up in the fall.

“We have a lot of trust in each other,” Fakih said. “I trust that she was going to do what she’s really, really good at, and she trusts that I was going to do what I’m good at.”

Despite their ranking, however, the freshmen have typically taken court two in doubles this season, with the top spot often going to No. 19 senior duo Kimmi Hance and Elise Wagle, who haven’t lost their last seven sets together.

“We just know each other really well, and we’ve played with each other on and off throughout our four years here,” Hance said. “We have a pretty good trust of what the other person is going to do. We don’t really need to say much.”

No. 41 Fakih – a two-time Big Ten Player of the Week and four-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week – has also been a pillar of the Bruins’ singles lineup, winning a team-leading 13 matches on the dual-match trail.

Right behind her is No. 26 Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer with 12 singles wins. The junior took court one in singles for just the second time in her collegiate career March 1 and has yet to let go, posting an 8-1 record at the top spot this season.

The Trojans boast three ranked singles players – No. 58 Emma Charney, No. 71 Grace Piper and No. 103 Imogen Haddad – with Piper and Lily Fairclough ranked as the No. 7 doubles pair in the country.

Neither the Terrapins nor the Scarlet Knights, meanwhile, possess ranked singles players, and Maryland has just one ranked tandem – No. 67 Danielle Hack and Kallista Liu.

Besides being UCLA’s regular season finale, Saturday’s match will also be the team’s Senior Day – honoring the commitments of No. 63 Wagle and No. 106 Hance, who spent their entire collegiate careers in Westwood.

“We just have a little bit of momentum right now,” Hance said. “We have a little bit of confidence right now. … That’s the biggest difference.”