Abrupt End for USC Tennis

By Jordan Moore on May 20, 2013 3:10 PM | No Comments

A year after both men's and women's tennis advanced to the NCAA Final Four, neither program was able to reach that feat again bringing an end to the men's team's historic run of four consecutive national championships. No. 4 USC men's tennis was defeated by No. 5 Ohio State (4-3) in the Elite Eight, while the No. 5 Women of Troy were shocked by No. 12 Stanford (4-3) in the Sweet 16.

Click here for the men's recap.

Click here for the women's recap.

While any men's tennis defeat has become headline news, the program is in a bit of transition after losing four-time champions Steve Johnson and Daniel Nguyen. Barring any early defections, head coach Peter Smith will bring his entire starting lineup back next season.

While the Women of Troy will return a young core as well, the loss to Stanford, which USC beat 6-1 in March, is heartbreaking. Even more surprising, the top doubles team of Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria, which was undefeated this season, suffered its first loss, as did Santamaria in singles after navigating Pac-12 play unscathed.

However, Christian and Santamaria as well as Danielle Lao and Zoe Scandalis will have an opportunity to demonstrate their resolve during the NCAA singles and doubles tournaments. On the men's side, Emilio Gomez, Ray Sarmiento, Robert Quiroz and Yannick Hanfmann will compete for the singles national championship, which Steve Johnson won each of the last two seasons.

The individual competitions begin May 22.