Men's Tennis Prepares For Pacific At NCAA Regionals
May 08, 2000 | Men's Tennis
May 8, 2000
This Week -- The 17th-ranked USC men's tennis team (16-8 overall, 5-2 Pac-10) received their 23rd all-time bid to the 2000 NCAA Championships. The Trojans begin postseason play this Saturday, May 13, at 3 p.m. against Pacific. If they advance, USC will face either host Fresno State or Oregon on Sunday, May 14, at 1 p.m. The Trojans also received two individual invitations to the NCAAs. Senior Patrick Gottesleben will compete in the singles championships, while the duo of Nicholas Rainey and Ryan Moore were invited to compete in doubles.
NCAA Championships -- The NCAA selected 64 teams to participate in the 2000 NCAA Tennis Championships. First and second round matches will played at 16 host sites on May 13-14, and the winner of each site will advance to the finals. The championships will be held in Athens, Ga., May 18-26. Individual championships will consist of 64 singles players and 32 doubles teams, and will take place during the team championships.
NCAA De Ja Vu -- With a No. 2 tournament seed and possible Fresno State match-up, it's de ja vu for the Trojans this season. In 1999, USC entered the NCAAs as the No. 2 seed after finishing the conference season with an identical 5-2 record. Troy traveled to Fresno, Calif. for the NCAA Regionals and defeated Missouri-Kansas City, 4-0, in the first round. But it was the Bulldogs of Fresno State who knocked them out of contention with a 4-1 victory in the second round. The highlight of the NCAA tournament was the play of doubles pair Patrick Gottesleben and Roman Kukal who advanced to the semifinals before falling to Toroman and Williams of Tulsa. Following are the 1999 NCAA Championship results:
Team Tournament
Regional First Round: defeated Missouri-Kansas City, 4-0
Regional Second Round: lost to Fresno State, 4-1
Singles Championship
Patrick Gottesleben
First Round: lost to Aaron Marchetti (Virginia Tech), 6-7, 7-6, 6-3
Doubles Championship
Gottesleben/Kukal
First Round: defeated Kloopert/Samuelsson (Tulane), 1-6, 6-1, 6-1
Second Round: defeated Cook/Kramer (UCLA), 7-6, 6-3
Quarterfinals: defeated Gullett/Hui (Pepperdine), 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
Semifinals: lost to Toroman/Williams (Tulsa), 6-2, 6-3
USC History at NCAA Championships -- USC's history at the NCAA championships spans three decades. Since 1977, the first year the NCAA sponsored a postseason tennis championship, the Trojans have advanced to the tournament in 22-of-23 seasons and have claimed the national championship three times (1991, 1993, 1994). The Trojans have reached the semifinals nine times and the quarterfinals five times. USC's players have also earned two singles championships (Robert Van't Hof, 1980, and Cecil Mamiit, 1996) and four doubles championships (Bruce Manson/Chris Lewis, 1977, Rick Leach/Tim Pawsat, 1986, Rick Leach/Scott Melville, 1987, Eric Amend/Byron Black, 1989) in the history of the NCAAs.
Opponents
Pacific: Ranked 52nd, Pacific completed the 2000 regular season with a 13-8 overall record and 5-3 mark in the Big West. At the conference tournament, the Tigers advanced to the semifinals by defeating UC Santa Barbara, 4-3, before falling to New Mexico State, 4-0. The team is led by Dietrich Haug who has compiled a 10-9 record at the No. 1 position. USC owns a 6-0 record against Pacific.
Fresno State: The 14th-ranked Bulldogs finished the season with a 23-4 record after posting an impressive 18-match win streak from February through April. The streak was brought to an end in their last match of 2000 with a 4-3 loss to SMU in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The team is led by No. 32 Peter Luczak and No. 43 Olivier Le Jeune who have each shared time at the top spot in the lineup. USC and Fresno State have already met once this year in a close contest that came down to the final singles match as the Bulldogs stole the 4-3 victory. USC owns a 10-4 all-time record over the Bulldogs.
Oregon: Conference rival Oregon enters the tournament ranked 60th with a 12-9 overall record and 2-6 Pac-10 mark. The Ducks finished in a fifth-place tie in the Pac-10 and earned a NCAA berth for only the second time in program history. The team is led by No. 51 Guillermo Carter and the 24th-ranked duo of Carter and Leslie Eisinga who each earned an at-large bid to the individual championships. This season, USC defeated the Ducks 7-0 in Eugene, and improved the all-time record to 6-0.
Final Pac-10 Standings -- Stanford captured both the men's and women's team titles in 2000, with the Cardinal men posting a perfect 7-0 mark in the Pac-10. This also marks the third-straight year that Stanford has won the men's title.
USC's third-place finish is the Trojans fourth in the last six years (1995, 97, 99, 2000). This is also the third-consecutive season the team has posted a 5-2 record in conference play. In the last decade, USC has finished first in the Pac-10 four times, of which the team won three national titles (1991, 93, 94). The Trojans have twice finished second, and third four times.
School Conf. W-L Overall W-L Rank
Stanford 7-0 22-1 No. 1
UCLA 6-1 21-3 No. 2
USC 5-2 15-7 No. 17
Washington 3-4 15-8 No. 30
California 2-5 11-7 No. 35
Oregon 2-5 11-9 No. 60
Arizona 2-5 10-11 No. 55
Arizona State 1-6 8-12 ---
One of the Nation's Toughest Conference -- Once again, the Pacific-10 conference proved to be one of the toughest tennis conferences in the country. Eight of the nine Pac-10 universities which sponsor men's tennis were ranked among the top-100 - three of which have consistently remained in the top-20. In doubles, three of the top-10 competitors are from the Pac-10, with seven total pairs in the top 50. There are 16 total players who represent the Pac-10 among the top 100 singles players.
At The 2000 Pac-10 Championships -- Doubles play at the Pac-10 Tournament was highlighted by Andrew Park and Parker Collins who advanced to the semifinals after upsetting Kowalczyk and Miles of Cal, and Lacoste and Aybar of Arizona. In singles, Collins was also the only USC player to advance to the second round of the Pac-10 Invitational, while Park, Nicholas Rainey and Ryan Moore each advanced to the second round of the main tournament. Following are the complete results:
Singles
Pac-10 Tournament
Ryan Moore
First Round: def. Michel Stopa (Arizona), 6-0, 3-0, retired
Second Round: lost to Geoff Abrams (Stanford), 2-6, 2-6
Andrew Park
First Round: def. John Paul Fruttero (Cal), 7-6, 6-1
Second Round: lost to Alex Kim (Stanford), 3-6, 6-4, 2-6
Nicholas Rainey
First Round: def. Jean-Noel Lacosta (Arizona), 6-1, 6-4
Second Round: lost to Guillermo Carter (Oregon), 4-6, 6-4, 4-6
Pac-10 Invitational
Parker Collins
First Round: def. Jeff Eicher (Washington), 6-3, 6-4
Second Round: lost to Erfan Djahangiri (UCLA), 2-6, 6-3, 2-6
Christian Jensen
First Round: lost to Chris Sand (UCLA), 2-6, 0-6
Scott Merryman
First Round: lost to Travis Rettenmaier (UCLA), 2-6, 1-6
Doubles
Pac-10 Tournament
Rainey/Moore
First Round: def. Klinger/Bowen (Arizona State), 8-6
Quarterfinals: lost to Posavac/Quatrochi (Washington), 2-8
Park/Collins
First Round: def. Kowalczyk/Miles (Cal), 8-5
Quarterfinals: def. Lacoste/Aybar (Arizona), 9-8
Semifinals: lost to Carter/Eisinga (Oregon), 4-6, 6-3, 3-6
Pac-10 Invitational
Christian/Merryman
First Round: lost to Berman/Lunde (Washington), 5-8
Michibata Named Princeton Head Coach -- USC assistant coach Glenn Michibata was named Princeton University men's tennis head coach on March 13. Michibata will replace David Benjamin upon his retirement following the spring 2000 season, and will remain with the Trojans through the championships.
Fall Fall-Outs -- Despite a very successful fall season where the Trojans claimed four tournament titles and an invitation to the ITA Championships, USC suffered two "fall-outs" that eventually affected the team in the spring. All-Pac-10 returner Roman Kukal, expected to lead the Trojans at the No. 1 spot, was unable to return to school. He stayed in his native country, Slovakia, to care for his family. USC's expected No. 2 player, Greg Hill, made the decision in January to join the pro circuit.
Spring Addition -- With the loss of Kukal and Hill, USC did obtain one spring addition -Freshman Daniel Langre, a 6-0 freshman from Mexico City who was ranked 36th according to ITF junior international rankings. Since then, he has become the second highest ranked Trojan and owns the team's best record.
USC News & Notes -- Freshman Daniel Langre's 11-match win streak (2/8-3/17) was the team's longest this season... Langre also recorded the team's best marks with a 22-6 overall record and 20-4 mark in dual match play throughout the regular season... Four of the Trojans' eight losses this season have come by 4-3 scores... Langre and senior Patrick Gottesleben went undefeated in singles matches at the USTA/ITA Team Indoor Championships (Feb. 24-27)... The Trojans' are 1-8 against top-25 ranked opponents in 2000.
Head Coach Dick Leach -- Dick Leach is currently in his 21st season at the helm of the USC men's tennis program. In 21 years with the Trojans, he has amassed a 493-118 (.807) overall record and won three national championships (1991, 1993, 1994). His teams have garnered seven Pac-10 championships, for which Leach has been named conference coach of the year four times (1987, 1991, 1992, 1994). In 1999, he guided USC to a 19-5 (.792) overall mark, third place finish in the Pac-10 (5-2), and second round appearance at the NCAAs.
Player Profiles
Parker Collins
15-24 Overall / 7-18 Dual Matches
In his first collegiate season, Parker Collins has struggled after being forced into the lineup when two players did not return for the spring. He is the only top-6 player on the roster who does not boast a winning record, but he has shown drastic improvement throughout the year. Collins played the sixth spot in all but one match were he was moved to No. 5 when Ryan Moore became injured. At a spot higher, he defeated UCLA's Chris Sands and was one of only two Trojans to earn wins in the 5-2 team loss against the Bruins on Feb. 18. In the last four matches of the regular season Collins posted a 2-2 record, earning big wins against Oregon and Cal. He, and partner Andrew Park, played at the No. 3 doubles spot and finished the season with a 15-11 record. Collins displayed one of his best performances at the 2000 Pac-10 Invitational where he advanced to the second round in singles and the quarterfinals in doubles.
Patrick Gottesleben
24-11 overall / 15-9 Dual Matches
The team's lone senior, Patrick Gottesleben earned the No. 1 singles position after Roman Kukal was not able to return for the spring season. He had an outstanding fall, reaching the finals of the ITA Regionals before falling to champion and teammate Andrew Park. Three weeks later he advanced to the semifinals at the SCTA Tournament before falling to Simon Shen of UC Santa Barbara. Gottesleben entered the regular season on a hot streak, winning his first seven consecutive matches. Due to minor injuries, his play faltered in March. Since then he has won five of his last eight matches. He and partner Daniel Langre teamed in January, and together they earned the team's best record in dual match-play with only five losses and 16 wins. Gottesleben did not compete at the Pac-10 Tournament.
Daniel Langre
22-6 overall / 20-4 Dual Matches
Daniel Langre joined the team in January and quickly proved to be one of the best. He finished the regular season with the team's best record, overall and in dual matches. Throughout the spring, he also accounted for the Trojans' longest win streak, claiming 11-straight from Feb. 8 through March 17. Langre played mainly at the No. 4 and 5 positions, and spent two matches at No. 3. The weekend he was moved up in the lineup, he went on to upset K.J. Hippensteel of Stanford and Hiro Nakamura of Cal. Despite USC's two losses that weekend, he was the only one to sweep the series and was named the USC Athlete of the Week on April 10. He, and partner Patrick Gottesleben teamed in January and together they earned the team's best doubles record in dual match-play with only five losses and 16 wins. At the Pac-10 Tournament, Langre fell in the first round to Jong-Min Lee.
Ryan Moore
22-15 overall / 14-10 Dual Matches
With a full-time position in the starting lineup this season, Ryan Moore has had to perform as one of the top three players on the team. In the fall, he reached the semifinals of the ITA Regionals were he was defeated by teammate and eventual champion, Andrew Park. He entered the regular season as No. 3 on the lineup where he won 4-of-5 matches to start. He was again moved one spot higher and dropped four-straight matches, only to win the next six for his longest win streak of the season. Of the six victories, one was at the No. 1 position. He finished the season, winning 3-of-8 matches after struggling with minor injuries. Moore has enjoyed most of his success in doubles. He, and partner Nicholas Rainey, remain ranked among the top-15 with a 27-9 overall record this season. In the fall, the duo claimed the Fresno State Bulldog Classic and SCTA Tournament Championship. Moore advanced to the second round of the Pac-10 Tournament singles competition, and the quarterfinals in doubles.
Andrew Park
29-12 overall / 17-8 Dual Matches
Andrew Park began the fall as one of the most highly touted players in the country, ranked as high as No. 4 in the preseason polls. In November he won the ITA Regionals and received an automatic berth to the ITA Championships in February. Park won his first 12-of-13 matches before the start of dual match play. He began the spring season at the No. 2 position, but struggled with a 5-7 record through February. He was moved to the No. 3 spot briefly and quickly regained confidence. Park finished the season winning 11-of-13 matches. He, and partner Parker Collins, played at the No. 3 doubles spot and finished the season with a 15-11 record. Park reached the second round of singles competition at the Pac-10 Tournament, and the semifinals in doubles.
Nicholas Rainey
26-11 overall / 17-7 Dual Matches
With only 11 losses this season, Nicholas Rainey has been a consistent player for the Trojans. After falling into the back draw at the ITA Regionals, he went on to win the consolation round by defeating Sean Cooper of San Diego. Throughout the dual match season, he played mainly at the No. 4 and 5 positions, and played at No. 3 on two occasions. His longest win streak came in March as he won six-consecutive matches. With a loss to Jean-Julien of UCLA to break the streak, Rainey went on to finish the regular season with a 4-2 record. Just like his partner, Rainey has enjoyed most of his success in doubles. He and Ryan Moore remain ranked among the top-15 with a 27-9 overall record this season. In the fall, the duo claimed the Fresno State Bulldog Classic and SCTA Tournament Championship. Rainey reached the second round of the Pac-10 Tournament singles competition, and the quarterfinals in doubles.
