University Southern California Trojans
Men's Tennis Takes On Local Teams
March 18, 2004 | Men's Tennis
March 18, 2004
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This Week -- The sixth-ranked USC men's tennis team (10-2, 3-0 Pac-10) faces local opponents - No. 20 Pepperdine (11-5) and No. 75 Loyola Marymount (7-6) - this week during the university's spring break holiday. The Trojans travel to Malibu on Friday, March 19, for a 1:30 p.m. match-up against the Waves. On Sunday, March 21, USC will play the Lions at 11 a.m. at Indian Wells.
USC suffered only its second loss of the season last week when it fell to 10th-ranked Duke, 6-1, on March 11. But the Trojans bounced back to nearly sweep both Arizona State, 7-0, and Arizona, 6-1, on consecutive days. With the wins, the Trojans improve to 3-0 in Pac-10 play.
Second-Annual Match-Up At Indian Wells -- This is the second-straight year the Trojans host an opponent at Indian Wells located outside of Palm Springs. USC and LMU will take to the courts before the start of Sunday's men's and women's singles finals of the Pacific Life Open. Last season, the Trojans defeated Princeton, 5-2, at Indian Wells on March 14.
ITA Ranking Updates -- The loss to the Blue Devils dropped the Trojans two spots to No. 6 in this week's ITA rankings released on Tuesday, March 16. In singles, senior Adriano Biasella remains ranked at No. 25. Freshman Jamil Al-Agba is ranked No. 53, Johan Berg is listed at No. 56 and junior transfer Drew Hoskins remains 80th. In doubles, Daniel Langre and Drew Hoskins are ranked 12th. Updated individual rankings will be released next week.
Key Notes -- Pepperdine will be the seventh-straight top 25 opponent USC has faced in the last month. The Trojans have gone 5-1 during that time. *** Johan Berg owns the team's best dual match singles record to date, with an 11-2 mark *** With a 10-3 overall record, senior Ruben Torres has yet to lose a dual match against a Pac-10 opponent (6-0). *** No. 12-ranked Drew Hoskins and Daniel Langre boast the team's best doubles record at 8-1.
USC vs. Pepperdine -- Friday's match will mark the 52nd all-time meeting between the Trojans and Waves. USC improved to 38-13 all-time against Pepperdine after beating the Waves, 5-2, in Los Angeles on Feb. 27. COMMON CONNECTION - Head coach Peter Smith spent five years coaching at Pepperdine before taking the position at Troy in May of 2002.
USC vs. Loyola Marymount -- USC and LMU have met only four times in a series that first began in 1926 when Loyola University was an all-male school located in downtown L.A. All four meetings took place before the 1972 season, with USC winning three-of-four.
Get The Latest Info -- Updated team stats can always be found by logging on to www.usctrojans.com. They are located on the men's tennis page under "Season Statistics."
