University Southern California Trojans
USC Men Put 11-Match Win Streak up Against Arizona
April 05, 2011 | Men's Tennis
April 5, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format
THIS WEEK
The No. 2 USC men's tennis team has a relatively lighter load this week in the form of a single dual match on the agenda for Marks Stadium. The Trojans (18-2, 4-0 Pac-10) take their 11-match win streak into a Pac-10 clash with No. 55 Arizona (8-11, 0-4) at 12 p.m. on Saturday (April 9).
ITA RANKING UPDATES
The latest 2011 Campbell/ITA national rankings were released April 5, with the back-to-back national champs still ranked No. 2 in the nation, a spot they also held for the first stretch of the year. New individual rankings were released March 29, 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 last achieved a year ago. His fellow junior Daniel Nguyen is next in line at #34 in singles ahead of two more Trojans: #36 Jaak Poldma and #49 Ray Sarmiento. In doubles, USC's ranked teams are #29 Johnson/Sarmiento, #47 Poldma/Sundling and #73 Johnson/Nguyen.
SCOUTING ARIZONA
The No. 55 Wildcats are 8-11 overall and 0-4 in Pac-10 play after losing 4-3 to Cal and 5-2 to Stanford last week. Arizona has #111 Andres Carrasco ranked in singles and no ranked doubles teams. USC is 92-2 all-time against the WIldcats after notching a 7-0 sweep last season in Tucson. Arizona's last win over the Trojans came in a 4-3 decision in 2006.
LAST WEEK
USC pitched a shutout against visiting Pac-10 squads last week, topping No. 65 Oregon and No. 20 Washington with 7-0 scores to extend the Trojans' win streak out to 11 straight. In all, USC lost just two sets total while sweeping up in doubles and rolling through singles play. The winning weekend extended singles win streaks out to five straight for freshmen Michael Grant and Ray Sarmiento, to 17 straight for Steve Johnson, and to 18 straight for Jaak Poldma. The victories also saw new doubles pairing as two fresh teams combined forces in winning fashion in the form of Emilio Gomez and Johnson and Daniel Nguyen and Sarmiento. Gomez/Johnson even picked up a win over a ranked opponent in their secon match together -- an 8-7 (7) win over Washington's #69 Kildahl/Obenhaus.
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.
SENIOR STRENGTH
Senior Jaak Poldma snagged his second career pick as the Pac-10 Player of the Week after his strong singles showing in the Trojans' home win over Pepperdine. Poldma had the match-clinching singles win with his upset of the Waves' #14 Sebastian Fanselow at the No. 2 singles positions to get USC a 5-2 win over No. 20 Pepperdine. USC was ahead 3-2 in the match with the Waves when Poldma gutted out a second-set tiebreak to secure a 6-4, 7-6 (5) victory and net the seventh straight win of the year for the Trojans. Poldma entered the matchup ranked #94 in the nation in singles. Now #36 in the land, Poldma currently holds a 28-3 overall singles record and is riding an 18-match winning streak with a perfect singles run in USC dual matches so far.
TOP GUN
Now grasping two Pac-10 Player of the Week awards this year, Steve Johnson now holds a 30-3 overall singles record, including a current 17-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 No. 6 overall and his move to No. 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 No. 4, 8, and 11 players. Since the start of the spring slate, Johnson has gone 21-1 in singles play and compiled wins in his last 17 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 latest Trojan to be named Pac-10 Player of the Week with his pick last week following two big straight-set wins in USC victories over No. 8 Stanford and No. 12 Cal. Now ranked #49 in the nation, Sarmiento holds a five-match win streak for a 25-7 overall record and 14-2 dual-match mark. Sarmiento is the fourth Trojan this season to be named Pac-10 Player of the Week, and USC leads the pack with six wins this year to boast more than half the conference honors given out to date.
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 #46 in the nation. His 28-3 overall singles record is second only to top-ranked teammate Steve Johnson's 30-win tally. Playing largely at the No. 2 singles slot, Poldma has beaten 12 ranked players during his winning run.
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 #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 15-4 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 is a perfect 18-0, and Steve Johnson is a clean 17-0. Ray Sarmiento took his second loss when he had to retire from his ninth dual-match singles match due to injury, giving him a 14-2 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.
