No. 7 USC Set to Host ITA Kickoff Weekend at Marks

LOS ANGELES - No. 7 USC men's tennis welcomes three squads (SMU, Texas Tech, and San Diego) to L.A., where the Trojans will host one of the 15 home-site destinations for ITA Kickoff Weekend. Starting at 11 a.m. on Saturday (Jan. 27), San Diego will face Texas Tech, while the Trojans will match up with SMU at 2 p.m. at Marks Stadium.

SCHEDULE
Saturday, Jan. 27
San Diego (2) vs. Texas Tech (3) - 11 a.m.
USC (1) vs. SMU (4) - 2 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 28
Consolation Match (LOSER OF BOTH MATCHES) - 11 a.m.
Championship Match (WINNER OF BOTH MATCHES) - 2 p.m.

RANKINGS
The Trojans enter this weekend as the No. 7 ranked team in the country (ITA Coaches Poll, Jan. 24). USC currently hosts three ranked individuals and one ranked doubles squad in the most recent individual rankings (Nov. 15, 2023). Junior Peter Makk is the highest-ranking individual, ranked No. 39. Sitting behind him is No. 73 senior Lodewijk Weststrate. The last player with an individual ranking is No. 94 junior Karl Lee. All three players earned victories on the singles side last week, as the Trojans bested UC Irvine 7-0 in the opening dual.

USC has one ranked doubles squad with the combination of graduate students Samuel Rubell and Niroop Vallabhaneni at No. 47. The duo is 4-1 together and won the SoCal Intercollegiate on their home courts.

LAST WEEK
#7 USC 7, UCI 0
Friday, January 19, 2024
Marks Tennis Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.
DOUBLES

Peter Makk/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Noah Zamora/Brandon (UCI) 7-5
Volodymyr Iakubenko/Samuel Rubell (USC) def. Enrique Luque Rico/Matthew Sah (UCI) 7-5
Karl Lee/Niroop Vallabhaneni (USC) vs. Andy Nguyen/Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) 4-5 UNF.

Order of finish: 2, 1
USC wins the doubles point.
SINGLES

Stefan Dostanic (USC) def. Enrique Luque Rico (UCI) – 6-4, 6-4
#39 Peter Makk (USC) def. Hiroki Sakagawa (UCI) – 6-2, 7-6 (2)
#73 Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Noah Zamora (UCI) – 6-1, 7-5
Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC) def. Andy Nguyen (UCI) – 3-6, 7-5, 12-10
#94 Karl Lee (USC) def. Lawee Sherif (UCI) – 6-2, 6-2
Samuel Rubell (USC) def. Ali Amiri (UCI) – 6-2, 6-3

Order of finish: 5, 6, 1, 3, 4, 2

SCOUTING SMU
The Mustangs enter the weekend with a plethora of early-season experience. SMU is currently 4-1 in dual matches, with its only loss coming from No. 23 Florida. The Mustangs have three ranked individuals this season: No. 88 Adam Neff, No. 98 Jerry Barton, and No. 122 Eric Hadigian. On the doubles side, they have one ranked doubles squad: No. 60 Steinhausen/Allen.

SCOUTING TEXAS TECH
The Red Raiders started the season 2-1 and are the No. 3 seed heading into the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Texas Tech has two ranked individuals: No. 71 Olle Wallin and No. 114 Reed Collier.

SCOUTING SAN DIEGO
The Toreros will have their dual debut at Marks Stadium, so they have the least experience in the early part of the season. San Diego boasts two ranked individuals, including the highest-ranked individual in the tournament, No. 8 Oliver Tarvet; the Torero's second-ranked singles player is No. 31 Liro Vasa. USD also hosts the No. 15 doubles squad in Sharrma/Klaassen.

PROMOTION
The First 200 Fans in Attendance will receive an Exclusive USC Men's Tennis Shirt.

WATCH THE TROJANS
All matches at Marks Stadium can be viewed through PlaySight. Please visit USCTrojans.com/mtennis to watch live streams of the matches and view live scoring. Follow @USCMensTennis on Instagram and X for score updates. You can also watch the tournament via YouTube through this link.

Players Mentioned

Stefan Dostanic

Volodymyr Iakubenko

Karl Lee

Peter Makk

Samuel Rubell

Niroop Vallabhaneni

Lodewijk Weststrate