University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Prepare To Challenge No. 9 UCLA
February 15, 2000 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 15, 2000
This Week -- USC (6-1, 2-0 Pac-10) prepares to face its third conference opponent of 2000 this week. The Trojans will challenge crosstown rival No. 9 UCLA at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Friday (Feb. 18), at 1:30 p.m.
The Trojans' Last Outing -- Last week USC garnered two victories over San Diego and UC Irvine in similar fashion.
vs. San Diego: USC swept all three doubles matches to start-off the afternoon with a 1-0 lead over the Toreros. Undefeated No. 7 Nicholas Rainey and Ryan Moore teamed for a 8-6 victory over German Maldonado and Ricardo Rizo. Ironically, it was the same match-up that earned Rainey and Moore the Fresno State Bulldog Classic title in October, 1999. With a 2-0 Trojans' lead, San Diego's Mattias Tangefjord earned a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Moore at the No. 2 position to bring the score within one (2-1). USC's Andrew Park defeated Rizo, 6-1, 7-6, at No. 3, Rainey defeated Sean Cooper, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, at No. 5, and Troy's Daniel Langre posted a 7-6, 6-4 win over Ray Van Wasbeek to seal the victory for the Trojans.
vs. UC Irvine: The Trojans handed the Anteaters their first loss in 2000 with a 5-2 defeat last Friday (Feb. 11). For the second-consecutive match, USC swept all three doubles matches to start-off the afternoon with a 1-0 lead over UC Irvine. Again, after the No. 1 singles match USC led 2-0, before Chris Chung defeated Ryan Moore, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), at the No. 2 position to bring the score within one (2-1). The Trojans went on to grab the next three wins for the match victory.
USC vs. UCLA -- Friday's match will be the 156th meeting between longtime rivals USC and UCLA. The Bruins own a 81-74 advantage in the series and have won the last three matches, including a 5-2 and 6-1 defeat last season. After starting 2000 ranked No. 1, UCLA (6-1, 2-0) dropped to No. 9 following a 5-2 loss to then-No. 21 Pepperdine. Since that match, the Bruins defeated UC Irvine, 6-1, on Feb. 12.
USC News & Notes -- USC dropped 10 spots in the ITA rankings after the loss to Fresno State (Feb. 1)... In the Fall, Ryan Moore and Nicholas Rainey won the Fresno State Bulldog Classic over Rizo/Maldonado of San Diego... The Trojans' are 0-1 against ranked opponents in 2000... After finishing the 1999 season ranked 17th, USC jumped six spots (11th) in the ITA fall rankings... Three of USC's four ranked players are only sophomores.
Head Coach Dick Leach -- Dick Leach enters his 21st season at the helm of the USC men's tennis program. In 20 years with the Trojans, he has amassed a 483-111 (.813) overall record and won three national championships (1991, 1993, 1994). His teams have garnered seven Pac-10 championships, for which Leach has been named conference coach of the year four times (1987, 1991, 1992, 1994). Last season, he guided USC to a 19-5 (.792) overall mark, third place finish in the Pac-10 (5-2), and second round appearance at the NCAAs.
Next Up -- The Trojans travel to Lexington, Ky., next week (Feb. 24-27) for the ITA Team Indoor Championships.
