Youth trumped experience on Saturday night when USC men's tennis freshman Brandon Holt topped UCLA's senior leader to clinch the Pac-12 Tournament title.
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The third-seeded Trojans topped Utah and Cal to set up their fourth meeting this season with their crosstown rivals. After falling in two of the previous three, the Trojans had revenge -- and a Pac-12 crown -- on their minds.
USC got right to work, winning a tight doubles point to take an early lead. UCLA tied it up with a win in singles, but the Trojans won the next two singles matches to take a 3-1 lead with three courts still playing. When the Bruins took the first two of those courts to tie things up at 3, all eyes focused on Court 1, where 19-year-old Holt was battling UCLA senior Gage Brymer.
Holt took the first set, 7-5, but dropped the second, 6-3. He seemed to have the edge in a majority of the games, but Brymer continued to come through in the clutch, taking advantage of the tournament's no-ad scoring to steal a few points. Holt's strong serving and even keel put him in position to break Brymer at the very last minute, earning a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 win.
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The win catapulted No. 7 USC to a 4-3 victory, its third Pac-12 tourney title and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 2017 NCAA Tournament begins on May 18 in Athens, GA.
University Southern California Trojans
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