Rainey and Moore Fall In NCAA Championship Final
May 29, 2000 | Men's Tennis
May 29, 2000
ATHENS, Ga. -- Marking USC's 30th all-time appearance in the NCAA doubles championship final, partners Nicholas Rainey and Ryan Moore suffered a 6-4, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Cary Franklin and Graydon Oliver of Illinois. Both teams were unexpected finalists, marking the second-consecutive year that an unseeded team wins the title.
"(Franklin and Oliver) were the most powerful servers we've faced all year," said Moore. "They just played awesome."
"In the first seven games we were playing better than they were," said Rainey. "Then they just really stepped it up and didn't look back. They're both big athletic guys and just a really good team."
11th-ranked Rainey and Moore cap off their season with a 33-11 record. The duo reached the finals with upset victories over fifth-ranked Doug Root and Ramsey Smith (Duke) in the semifinals and 5-8 seed Toby Hansson and Jon Wallmark (SMU) in the round of 16. USC also defeated pairs from Princeton and Boise State en route to the championship match.
USC's last title came in 1989 as Eric Amend and Byron Black defeated Mike Briggs and Trevor Kroneman of UC Irvine. Since then, the Trojans have appeared in the championship match three times (1994, 1997, 2000).
Prior to the individual championship matches, Rainey and Moore were honored among the class of 2000 ITA All-Americans. This is the first such honor for the duo, which met the criteria by reaching the quarterfinals of the NCAA doubles tournament.
Final 2000 NCAA Tournament Results
Team
First Round
USC def. Pacific - 4-1
Second Round
USC def. Fresno State - 4-1
Round of 16
Florida def. USC - 4-1
Singles
First Round
Alexander Hartman (Miss. State) def. Patrick Gottesleben (USC) - 6-2, 6-2
Doubles
First Round
Rainey/Moore (USC) def. Bornstein/Lui (Princeton) - 6-3, 6-2
Round of 16
Rainey/Moore (USC) def. Hansson/Wallmark (SMU) - 6-3, 7-5
Quarterfinal
Rainey/Moore (USC) def. Meineke/Moodie (Boise State) - 4-6, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (3)
Semifinal
Rainey/Moore (USC) def. Root/Smith (Duke) - 6-4, 6-4
Championship
Franklin/Oliver (Illinois) def. Rainey/Moore (USC) - 6-4, 6-2
