University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Start Road To Four As Top Seed
May 01, 2012 | Men's Tennis
May 1, 2012
2012 NCAA BRACKET
The USC men's tennis team has been on top of the nation's rankings all season long. Rightly so, as the Trojans stand tall as the three-time defending national champions. For this year's campaign for a fourth straight crown, the target is even more firmly tagged on USC's back, with the Trojans set as the No. 1 seed in the 2012 NCAA Championship draw. Once again, the journey begins at home for USC, which sets up camp at Marks Stadium next week for opening action in the NCAA First and Second Rounds.
USC will play host to Fairfield, South Carolina and Texas A&M for the opening rounds. On Saturday, May 12, South Carolina (15-11) and Texas A&M (13-14) will face off in first-round action at 9 a.m. at Marks Stadium. At 12 p.m., the Trojans (27-1) will take on Fairfield (16-4). The winners of Saturday's play will advance to the second round match, set for 12 p.m. on Sunday, May 13.
This will be USC's first soiree into the postseason as the top seed, tabbed at No. 8 in 2009, No. 5 in 2010 and No. 2 in 2011. Every year, USC knocked off the respective No. 1 seeds on the way to racking up its three consecutive crowns. Now, the Trojans' knack for championships and dominating 27-1 overall record has them standing tall as the No. 1 seed for 2012. The Trojans are aiming to become just the second team in NCAA history to win four consecutive national championships under the current NCAA team tournament format. Stanford won titles in 1995-98.
This year, USC has two seniors at the forefront of its push for four. Steve Johnson carries what is understood to be an unprecedented 60-match singles win streak into the Trojans' 2012 postseason campaign, where he also is the defending NCAA Singles Champion. Daniel Nguyen has been the clincher for the Trojans in two of their past three NCAA Team Championships. Both know how to win titles, and they are leading a powerful bunch of winners this year as well. Sophomores Ray Sarmiento and Emilio Gomez have been mainstays in the Trojan lineup since coming to Troy last year for the 2011 title run. What they learned as freshmen last year, newcomers Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz have been soaking up all season.
This year's NCAA appearance is USC's sixth straight trip to the postseason and 34th overall. This year's run can take the Trojans back to the site of their 2010 NCAA crown, won in Athens, Ga. USC leads the nation with 19 national championships all-time, and holds an 80-29 overall record in the NCAA Tournament.
Fresh off winning the inaugural Pac-12 Team Championship last weekend, the Trojans tote a 27-1 overall record into the 2012 NCAA Tournament with their sixth straight 20-win season already inked in the books. But USC is looking for more. Already having matched last year's 27 wins, the Trojans could finish 2012 one win shy of the program record of 34 wins set in 1985 if USC is able to successfully defend its three straight national titles.
The seedings and draws for the 2012 NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships are the next postseason items to be revealed. Those selections will be released tomorrow (May 2) on ncaa.com. NCAA individual action will take place after the conclusion of the NCAA Team Championships, set for May 22 in Athens, Ga. Men's team play in Athens will begin on May 18 and run through May 22. NCAA singles play will run May 23-28, and doubles action goes May 24-28 -- all at Georgia's Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens.
