University Southern California Trojans
Men's Tennis Travels To Arizona, Arizona State
March 06, 2000 | Men's Tennis
March 6, 2000
This Week -- The 19th-ranked USC men's tennis team (7-4, 2-1 Pac-10) resumes the dual match schedule this week against Pac-10 opponents No. 55 Arizona and No. 34 Arizona State. The Trojans travel to face the Wildcats on Friday (March 10) at 1:30 p.m. in Tucson, Ariz., then play the Sun Devils on Saturday (March 11) at noon in Tempe.
USC vs. Arizona -- Saturday's match will be the 78th meeting against Arizona. Troy has only lost one match in the 66-year old series, including a 6-1 victory at home on Jan. 29. The Wildcats (6-3, 1-2 Pac-10) are coming off a 4-3 upset over Arizona State on Feb. 27.
USC vs. Arizona State -- Against Arizona State, the Trojans have recorded a 41-5 overall mark, and defeated the Sun Devils, 5-2, at home on Jan. 28. The Sun Devils recent 4-5 loss to instate rival Arizona was the team's third-straight Pac-10 defeat of the season. Before the USC match-up, Arizona State (4-3, 0-3 Pac-10) will face Marquette on Wednesday, March 8, and UCLA on Friday, March 10.
The Trojans' Last Outing -- Four USC pairs competed at the 111th Pacific Coast Men's Doubles Championships last week (March 3-5) at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. Seeded first, Daniel Langre paired with USC assistant coach Glen Michibata. The duo advanced to the semifinals before falling to independent entries Kelly Gullet and Peter Smith, 7-9. Also among the top-10, fourth seed Nicholas Rainey and Ryan Moore defeated Sandy Gentile and Michael Ortiz of UC Santa Barbara, 6-2, 7-5, in the Round of 16. In the quarterfinals, then dropped a 3-6, 6-4, 1-6 decision to amateurs Steve Adamson and Andrew Cheney. Parker Collins and Andrew Park were defeated by top-ranked Geoff Abrams and Alex Kim, 3-6, 3-6, of Stanford in the second round. After dropping their first match of the tournament, Christian Jensen and Scott Merryman were eliminated by Gernet Kerschbaumer and Manuel Scherer of Toledo in consolation play.
USC News & Notes -- Freshman Daniel Langre and senior Patrick Gottesleben went undefeated in singles matches at the USTA/ITA Team Indoor Championships (Feb. 24-27)... 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 0-2 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 484-114 (.809) 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 have a packed schedule next week with three nonconference matches scheduled. USC will play Utah on Tuesday (March 14), Purdue on Thursday (16th) and Clemson on Friday (17th).
