Trojans Advance At Oracle ITA National Fall Championships

SURPRISE, ARIZ. — USC's contingent of Trojans in competition at the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships remains strong after day one of action in Surprise, Ariz. USC's doubles duo of Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith churned out a straight-set victory to take their place in tomorrow's Round of 16. In singles, meanwhile, Cukierman, Logan Smith and Laurens Verboven were all victorious to advance to Round of 32 play tomorrow morning.

Cukierman and Smith, ranked #40 in the nation, easily toppled the #49 pair from South Carolina in today's Round of 32, posting a 6-4, 6-4 win to advance. Tomorrow, the Trojan duo will take on an upset-minded team from Drake, which felled the top-seeded team in the draw today.

Singles action saw three Trojans preview and two fall out of the main draw. Up against the draw's No. 2 seed, senior Tanner Smith took a loss in the Round of 64, falling to Texas' #54 Christian Sigsgaard 6-1, 6-3. So too, would USC suffer another defeat at the hands of a Longhorn, as No. 4 seeded and ranked Brandon Holt was upended by Texas' #47 Harrison Scott 4-6, 6-4, 6-4. Holt stepped out of the consolation bracket, but Smith will continue in consolation play tomorrow.

Victorious in singles play today, #104 Logan Smith issued a straight-set win over UNC's #123 Bo Boyden to move on. Cukierman and Laurens Verboven, meanwhile, had longer roads in their respective Round of 64 battles, but both dug in for the wins. No. 6 seeded #31 Cukierman would push past UNC's Joshua Peck with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win to advance to tomorrow's Round of 32. #81 Verboven would slip in the first set before powering up for a winning response, beating Wake Forest's #91 Bar Botzer 6-7 (0), 6-3, 6-2. He'll have the highest-ranked opponent of the Trojan crew tomorrow, as Verboven takes on Baylor's #33 Johannes Schretter in the Round of 32. Smith will face #117 Jason Kros of Virginia Tech, and Cukierman is lined up against Miami's #92 Bojan Jankulovski. All those matches are set to be played at 9 a.m.

USC results and schedule are listed below. For complete draws and results, visit https://www.itatennis.com/ITA/Events/Oracle_ITA_National_Fall_Championships.aspx

2018 ORACLE ITA NATIONAL FALL CHAMPIONSHIPS (Surprise, Ariz.)

SINGLES
Round of 64 - Nov. 7
#47 Harrison Scott (TEX) def. [4] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) - 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
[6] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Joshua Peck (UNC) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
#81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #91 Bar Botzer (WFU) - 6-7 (0), 6-3, 6-2
#104 Logan Smith (USC) def. #123 Bo Boyden (UNC) - 6-3, 6-4
[2] #54 Christian Sigsgaard (TEX) def. Tanner Smith (USC) - 6-1, 6-3

Round of 32 - Nov. 8
[6] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) vs. #92 Bojan Jankulovski (MIAMI) - 9 a.m.
#81 Laurens Verboven (USC) vs. #33 Johannes Schretter (BAY) - 9 a.m.
#104 Logan Smith (USC) vs. #117 Jason Kros (VT) - 9 a.m.

CONSOLATION SINGLES
Round of 32 - Nov. 8
Tanner Smith (USC) vs. Yuta Kikuci (CAL) - 10 a.m.

DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Nov. 7
#40 Daniel Cukierman / Tanner Smith (USC) def. #49 Dennis/Jubb (South Carolina) - 6-4, 6-4

Round of 16 - Nov. 8
#40 Daniel Cukierman / Tanner Smith (USC) vs. Gillespie/Thorold (Drake) - 5:30 p.m.

Players Mentioned

Daniel Cukierman

Brandon Holt

Logan Smith

Tanner Smith

Laurens Verboven