University Southern California Trojans
USC Men Double Up On Dual Matches In Final Week
April 18, 2011 | Men's Tennis
April 19, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
The No. 3 USC men's tennis team enters its final week of regular-season dual matches as the Trojans make a push to post their first undefeated Pac-10 season since 1987. USC (19-2, 5-0 Pac-10) already is locked in with at least a share of the conference crown -- a feat it has achieved six times since its outright victory in 1987 -- but can claim sole possession of the title with a win over crosstown rival No. 9 UCLA on Friday (April 22) at 3 p.m. in Westwood. Before that opportunity arises, the Trojans will host No. 49 UC Irvine in a nonconference clash on Tuesday (April 19) at Marks Stadium.
ITA RANKING UPDATES
The latest 2011 Campbell/ITA national rankings were released April 19, with the back-to-back national champs ranked No. 3 in the nation. New individual rankings also were released April 19, with four Trojans ranked in the top-50 in singles and three doubles teams in the mix. Steve Johnson remains at the head of the pack as the nation's #1 singles player -- a spot he also held a year ago. Senior captain Jaak Poldma is next in line at #35 in singles ahead of two more Trojans: #38 Daniel Nguyen and #55 Ray Sarmiento. In doubles, USC's ranked teams are #30 Johnson/Sarmiento, #32 Poldma/Sundling and #85 Johnson/Nguyen.
SCOUTING UC IRVINE
The No. 49 Anteaters are 16-6 overall after beating UC Davis 7-0 and Pacific 5-2 last week to improve to 4-0 in Big West competition. UC Irvine has #41 Chris Kearney ranked in singles and #40 Kearney/Stege ranked in doubles. USC is 39-3 all-time against the Anteaters with wins coming in the past three seasons, including a 7-0 sweep last year at Marks Stadium.
SCOUTING UCLA
The No. 9 Bruins are 15-5 overall and 3-2 in Pac-10 play after upsetting Pepperdine 4-3 last week. UCLA has four players ranked in singles (#39 Daniel Kosakowski, #63 Nick Meister, #87 Amit Inbar and #102 Clay Thompson) and three ranked doubles teams (#20 Inbar/Meister, #47 Brigham/Puget and #76 Brigham/Inbar). USC is 81-93 all-time against UCLA after getting a 5-2 win over the Bruins last month in the teams' nonconference clash. UCLA has managed to beat the Trojans for a share of the Pac-10 title four times since USC last posted a perfect confererence season in 1987. The Bruins also boast Pac-10 wins over the Trojans in the past six straight seasons. UCLA is out of reach of sharing a Pac-10 championship with the Trojans this year, but could interrupt an undefeated USC finish and leave the Trojans tied with Stanford for the Pac-10 title if the Bruins are able to claim a seventh straight conference win over USC. USC's last Pac-10 win over the Bruins was a 4-3 win in 2004.
LAST WEEK
USC did not compete last week. The Trojans' last competition was a 6-1 win over No. 55 Arizona on April 9, when USC expanded its win streak to 12 straight with the victory over the Wildcats. 12 straight to improve USC to 19-2 overall while holding an undefeated 5-0 mark in Pac-10 action. The Trojans locked down the doubles point first with some newer pairings as Emilio Gomez and Steve Johnson got their third straight win together at the top spot and Daniel Nguyen and Ray Sarmiento did the same with their win at No. 2, while Michael Grant and JT Sundling teamed up for the first time this year to notch a win at No. 3. Singles play saw the Trojans ring up three consecutive 6-2, 6-2 victories to clinch the win early. Wins from freshmen Sarmiento and Gomez were followed by Johnson locking in on his 18th straight singles win in a clincher for the Trojans at No. 1. Back in the lineup after injury was senior Peter Lucassen, who blew by Borja Malo at No. 6 for a 6-4, 6-3 win that also lifted him to honors as the Pac-10 Player of the Week. Nguyen also got in on the straight-set action to put USC up 6-0. Arizona's lone point came on a 10-game tiebreak in the third on court six.
INDOOR EFFORT
USC took its first and only losses of the year and first back-to-back defeats since 2008 with two tight losses at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle. The Trojans were edged out 4-3 by No. 17 Duke first, and then fell by the same score to No. 7 Stanford. USC rebounded on day three of the competition, however, and pounded its way to a 4-0 shutout of No. 12 Louisville to wrap things up. Steve Johnson and Jaak Poldma were the lone Trojans to win all three of their singles matches out in Seattle, and Poldma and JT Sundling were victorious all the way through on the doubles courts as well. Since that bump in the road, USC has won 12 consecutive matches to put the Trojans on a path to the Pac-10 title and a high seed in the coming NCAA Tournament.
POLDMA'S POWER
Twice selected Pac-10 Player of the Week this year, Jaak Poldma is on a roll in his senior season. He's holding a perfect 18-0 mark in dual-match singles play and currently sits at #35 in the nation. His 28-3 overall singles record is second only to top-ranked teammate Steve Johnson's 31-win tally. Playing largely at the No. 2 singles slot, Poldma has beaten 12 ranked players during his winning run of 18 straight singles victories. He's on the board in doubles as well, ranked #32 with sophomore JT Sundling as the pair is 13-4 in dual match doubles and 19-5 overall.
TOP GUN
Now grasping two Pac-10 Player of the Week awards this year, Steve Johnson now holds a 31-3 overall singles record, including a current 18-match winning streak over some of the country's stiffest competition to remain atop the latest ITA/Campbell National Rankings as the No. 1 player in men's collegiate tennis. Johnson came into the spring ranked #6 overall and his move to #1 brings him back to the top slot that he also held during parts of the 2010 season. Johnson's three losses have come against the country's current #4, #9, and #10 players. Since the start of the spring slate, Johnson has gone 21-1 in singles play and compiled wins in his last 18 matches. During his win streak, Johnson has secured wins over eight top-15 players, including two impressive straight-set victories over Pac-10 rival Bradley Klahn of Stanford to avenge his one spring loss.
RAY GETS THE SPOTLIGHT
Freshman Ray Sarmiento became the fourth Trojan to be named Pac-10 Player of the Week with his pick on March 28 following two big straight-set wins in USC victories over No. 8 Stanford and No. 12 Cal. Now ranked #55 in the nation, Sarmiento holds a six-match win streak for a 26-7 overall record and 15-2 dual-match mark. Sarmiento is one of five Trojans this season to be named Pac-10 Player of the Week, and USC leads the pack with seven wins this year to boast more than half the conference honors given out to date.
WELCOME TO THE PAC
In just his second week of competition with the Trojans, freshman Emilio Gomez earned his first selection as Pac-10 Player of the Week. Gomez hit his stride in picking up three doubles and three singles victories in a winning week of action for USC. Playing doubles with Daniel Nguyen, Gomez clinched the doubles point for USC in all three matches. In singles, Gomez fell in his first set during USC's midweek clash with No. 27 Florida State, but lost just six games in the next six sets played as he went 3-for-3 in singles action as well. His win against San Diego State clinched the match for the Trojans. Gomez opened his USC career with a 4-0 singles mark and a 5-0 run in doubles with Nguyen. Gomez was the first Trojan to win the weekly award this season. He's now 16-4 in singles and 9-6 in doubles with Nguyen.
SMOOTH SAILING
Two Trojans are still batting 1.000 in dual-match singles play to date. Jaak Poldma and Steve Johnson are both a clean 18-0. Ray Sarmiento took his second loss when he had to retire from his ninth dual-match singles match due to injury, and he now holds a 15-2 mark to date.
STARTING AT SHERWOOD
USC gathered up some good wins in its 2011 kickoff at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup, with Steve Johnson reaching the singles title match while his Trojan teammates managed to sweep the consolation crowns. JT Sundling rebounded from an opening loss to work his way to the consolation singles title, while Daniel Nguyen and Peter Lucassen replicated that effort on the consolation doubles courts.
CHAMPIONSHIP EXPERIENCE
This year, half the USC ladder knows what it takes to win two NCAA Championships, and five players return from the 2010 title-winning team. 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 believes can make a real run at defending the Trojans' back-to-back titles.
FALL'S DOUBLE DOMINATION
Captain Jaak Poldma is the resident veteran of the team as he entered his fourth season as a Trojan ranked #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. Sundling and Poldma remain USC's winningest doubles duo with a 19-5 overall record and a 13-4 mark in dual match action.
2011 TROJANS TAKE SHAPE
As the nation's No. 6 ranked singles player, junior Steve Johnson is an easy fit back into the No. 1 singles position for the Trojans, with Jaak Poldma and Daniel Nguyen already proven winners and Peter Lucassen and JT 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.
RANK AND FILE
The early ITA national rankings already reflected a Trojan dominance in the 2011 picture. USC opened 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 started the year ranked in the ITA top-100 on the singles sheet.
