University Southern California Trojans
2011 USC Men's Tennis Outlook
January 05, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Jan. 5, 2011
On the tennis map right now, the compass needle points to USC. The sheen of back-to-back national championships has the Trojans still glowing as the team to beat in 2011. But it won't be easy.
The depth on the USC roster last season was scary. And a glance at this year's lineup is sure to keep plenty of goosebumps on the skin of USC's opponents. Half the ladder knows what it takes to win two NCAA Championships. Five players return from the 2010 title-winning team. And the new guys are primed to step right into the mix to get USC on a path back to the top.
Senior Jaak Poldma and juniors Steve Johnson and Daniel Nguyen each hold a pair of national championship rings. Senior Peter Lucassen and sophomore JT Sundling picked up their first last year, when USC finished as champs with a 25-3 overall record after taking second in the Pac-10 at 5-1. Altogether, it's a pool of experience that USC head coach and 2010 ITA National Coach of the Year Peter Smith is eager to dip into for a run at defending the Trojans' back-to-back titles.
"We've been lucky to have the depth necessary to go far, and it looks like we have it again this year," Smith said. "When we get to that point in the season where we're playing really big matches, we have some experience on our side and we really hope to use that. The last thing we can do is try to maintain what we did. We don't just want to maintain; we've got to get better and better and better and keep proving ourselves. Our competition is out there trying to get better and we need to match that passion."
USC's top loss from last season is the fiery Robert Farah, who tagteamed the No. 1 singles slot with Steve Johnson and also teamed up with Johnson as the Trojans' top doubles pair. With Farah's eligibility exhausted, USC's ladder takes on a different look, but it's still a daunting one. Johnson is an easy fit back into No. 1, with Poldma and Nguyen already proven winners and Lucassen and Sundling also having gleaned plenty of winning experience after a year as Trojans.
Added to the formula for this season are three new freshmen -- Michael Grant, Ray Sarmiento and Corey Smith. Grant and Sarmiento had strong fall seasons, with Sarmiento factoring in quickly as a doubles gun as well. Newcomer Emilio Gomez also enters the picture this season in coming to Troy from Ecuador this spring.
The ITA national rankings already reflect a Trojan dominance in the 2011 picture. USC opens the spring ranked No. 2 in the nation as a team, just behind top-ranked Virginia. The Cavaliers were the top-seeded team in both the 2009 and 2010 NCAA tournaments, and USC served up an upset win over UVA both years en route to claiming its consecutive crowns.
Individually, five Trojans are ranked in the ITA top-100 on the singles sheet. USTA/ITA National Indoor runner-up Steve Johnson weighs in at No. 6 and is joined by fellow junior Daniel Nguyen in the top-20 as Nguyen checks in at No. 18 for his highest career ranking to date. With that early combination, USC has a similar shape to last year's start-up, which had Johnson at No. 1 and now-departed Robert Farah ranked No. 14.
"Rob and Steve were interchangeable last season," Smith said. "To have two players ranked No. 1 in one year is pretty amazing, and I'm not worried at all about having Steve back playing No. 1 singles this year. For Daniel, he's done so much already, but he has so much more to do. It's a natural progression for him."
Also a mainstay in the singles rankings since coming to Troy last year, senior Peter Lucassen holds down No. 84 in the national rankings. This season, he's followed closely by freshman Ray Sarmiento at No. 91 and senior Jaak Poldma at No. 94.
Peter proved so much to everybody last year," Smith said of Lucassen. "To go to NCAAs and not lose a set and beat the players he beat is really special.
"Ray is a super talented freshman with a lot of ability. He's a big part of the future of our program. We hope he can kind of model himself after some of the great players who played here and who are still here. He's quick and athletic and can really hit the ball.
Captain Jaak Poldma is the resident veteran of the team as he enters his fourth season as a Trojan ranked No. 94 on the singles scene. He had an extremely successful fall season in winning the Southern California Intercollegiate singles title as well as the doubles crown alongside teammate JT Sundling.
"We want Jaak to jump in with both feet, and since the fall, we've seen that that's what he wants to do. We want the most out of him, and I think he's ready to do it."
Sundling's freshman season peppered the newcomer with experience and a winning mentality as he makes the move into his sophomore season. Sundling and Poldma rank No. 51 as a doubles pair, following up the No. 29 team of Steve Johnson and Daniel Nguyen.
Sundling blends in to that youthful set of talent rounding out USC's roster. With freshman Sarmiento already dug into the national rankings to start 2011 after a strong fall, freshman Michael Grant also put forth a good first round as a Trojan. Emilio Gomez will get his first game action as a Trojan as soon as spring hits, and coach Peter Smith likes what he has going.
"Michael had a great fall," Smith said "I feel very comfortable with our new guys. I think JT is more prepared after going through playing NCAAs last year. I want these guys to keep shooting for the stars and keep going for it.
"We're looking at Emilio to play a significant role. It's hard to put that on a freshman, but he's won some big tournaments and we know he's a capable player."
It all begins soon. USC's 2011 campaign kicks off on January 14 with individual tournament action, and the Trojans' first dual matches come in a home double-header with Sacramento State and St. Mary's on January 22.
"Every year, every team wants to win it all," Smith said. "We've been pretty fortunate the last two years to do it. It's definitely our goal again, and we'll go for it with every ounce of our beings."
