University Southern California Trojans
Men's Tennis To Battle Bruins, Tuesday
March 01, 2004 | Men's Tennis
March 1, 2004
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This Week -- The 13th-ranked USC men's tennis team (7-1) -- coming off a victory over Pepperdine and upset-victory over Baylor last week -- host ninth-ranked UCLA (9-3) on Tuesday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m. at Marks Tennis Stadium. The meeting will be the second Lexus Gauntlet match-up of the season as the Trojans look to claim a share of the five points awarded in men's tennis.
The USC-UCLA match will be tape delayed by FOX Sports West/West 2. The match will air on March 6 at 3 p.m.
ITA Ranking Updates -- The team jumped six spots, from No. 19 to No. 13, in the most recent ITA rankings released on Feb. 24. In singles, freshman Jamil-Al-Agba entered the rankings at No. 16, senior Ruben Torres moved to No. 68, junior transfer Drew Hoskins dropped to 69th and junior Johan Berg moved to No. 84.
USC vs. UCLA -- USC and UCLA have met a total of 166 times in their 75-year old history. The Bruins own an 89-77 series advantage and defeated the Trojans in the first meeting of 2004, 4-3, at the Los Angeles Tennis Center on Jan. 30.
Battle for the Lexus Gauntlet -- Tuesday's match against the Bruins will be the second meeting in men's tennis for Lexus Gauntlet points -- a season-long challenge between USC and UCLA. This unique program awards points for the winner of each Bruin-Trojan head-to-head contest throughout the year and the Lexus Gauntlet trophy is awarded to the school with the most points at year's end. USC won the inaugural trophy in 2002 and UCLA captured the 2003 trophy. The Bruins already earned the first 2.5 of five total points awarded in men's tennis by beating the Trojans on Jan. 30. USC currently leads this year's competition, 42.5-30.
Pac-10 Opener -- Tuesday's match will be the first official Pac-10 match of the season for both teams. Only one meeting against conference opponents counts yearly. Despite USC's loss to the Bruins on Jan. 30, the result did not affect conference records.
Recent Results -- The Trojans defeated No. 21 Pepperdine and No. 3 Baylor last week to improve their win streak to five-straight. USC's only loss so far this season was to UCLA.
Freshman Challenges For Top Spot -- Newcomer Jamil Al-Agba has made an impression so far this season. He has played three matches at the No. 1 spot, winning all three, and has collected a 9-3 overall record and 6-2 record in dual matches. Al-Agba is the first freshman to spend time at the No. 1 position since George Bastl did so in 1997.
National Championship Experience -- Two players remain from USC's 2002 NCAA championship lineup. Seniors Ruben Torres and Daniel Langre played at the No. 5 and 6 singles positions in 2002. Neither player dropped a singles match in the NCAA Tournament that year and both were named to the all-tournament team.
Finally at Home -- Senior Adriano Biasella may have finally found his home. USC is the third collegiate stop for this well-traveled native of Rome, Italy. Biasella spent one semester playing at Vincennes (Ind.) University and was named the 2001 NJCAA Player of the Year. He then transferred to College of the Desert in Palm Desert, Calif., where he played one year and captured the CCCTCA Individual Singles and Doubles Championship in 2002. Troy is his final stop, but he had to put up a fight as he sat out in 2003 and was later granted one year of eligibility to play for the Trojans this season.
