Trojans Trip Up In Men's Title Matches
October 25, 2010 | Men's Tennis
Oct. 25, 2010
IRVINE, CALIF. -- The USC men's tennis team wound up two wins short of a title sweep at the ITA Southwest Regional Championships today in Irvine, Calif., as the Trojans slipped up in the doubles and singles finals. Steve Johnson and Ray Sarmiento were on stage first in the doubles championship match, but were edged out by their top-seeded UCLA opponents. In the singles championship, Daniel Nguyen fell to Pepperdine's Sebastian Fanselow.
In a battle of the top two seeded pairs in the tournament, the doubles championship was a grind. No. 2 seeded Steve Johnson and Ray Sarmiento clashed with UCLA's top guns Amit Inbar and Nick Meister. The teams stayed neck-and-neck throughout much of the match, with Johnson/Sarmiento up 6-5 until the Bruin duo was able to work ahead with the next to games to take a 7-6 lead. The Trojans locked it back up 7-7, but UCLA was able to pull out the championship victory by winning out the rest for a 9-7 decision.
Daniel Nguyen took to the courts next for the Trojans in the singles title match against Pepperdine's Sebastian Fanselow. Nguyen pushed the first set into a tiebreaker, but could not pick up the first-set win. Fanselow worked out ahead in the next set, and managed to hold off Nguyen and claim the singles crown for the Waves with a 7-6, 6-3 decision over Nguyen.
Full results and schedule from the ITA regionals are below.
ITA Southwest Regional Championships (Irvine, Calif.)
SINGLES
Round of 128 - Thurs., Oct. 21
[1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) -- bye
[17] JT Sundling (USC) -- bye
[5] Peter Lucassen (USC) -- bye
[10] Ray Sarmiento (USC) -- bye
[15] Jaak Poldma (USC) -- bye
Borja Malo (ARIZ) def. Michael Grant (USC) -- 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
Round of 64 - Thurs., Oct. 21
[1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. Jonathan Brooklyn (Hawaii) -- 6-1, 6-4
[17] JT Sundling (USC) def. David Humphries (ARIZ) -- 6-3, 6-3
[5] Peter Lucassen (USC) def. Daniel Moss (PEP) -- 6-2, 6-0
[10] Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. Sebastian Bustamante (LMU) -- 6-2, 6-2
[15] Jaak Poldma (USC) def. Jeff Gast (UCLA) -- 6-2, 6-2
Round of 32 -- Fri., Oct. 22
[1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. [17] Andre Feliz (SDSU) - 6-2, 6-1
[7] Dean Jackson (USD) def. [17] JT Sundling (USC) - 6-1, 6-3
[17] Benjamin Recknagel (UCSB) def. [5] Peter Lucassen (USC) - 6-3, 6-3
[15] Jaak Poldma (USC) def. Steven Henderson (UCI) - 7-5, 2-6, 6-3
[10] Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. [17] Jeremy Tweedt (Hawaii) - 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Round of 16 - Sat. Oct. 23
[1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. Mousheg Hovhannisyan (PEP) - 6-4, 6-1
[15] Jaak Poldma (USC) def. David Sofaer (PEP) - 6-2, 6-3
[10] Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. [8] Amit Inbar (UCLA) - 7-6, 6-4
Quarterfinals - Sun., Oct. 24
[1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. [7] Dean Jackson (USD) - 6-4, 6-0
[16] Alex Llompart (PEP) def. [15] Jaak Poldma (USC) - 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
[4] Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. [10] Ray Sarmiento (USC) - 7-5, 6-4
Semifinals - Sun., Oct. 24
[1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. [3] Chris Kearney (UCI) - 6-4, 6-3
Championship - Mon., Oct. 25
[4] Sebastian Fanselow (PEP) def. [1] Daniel Nguyen (USC) -- 7-6, 6-3
DOUBLES
Round of 64 - Thurs., Oct. 21
[6] Lucassen/Poldma (USC) - bye
[4] Nguyen/Sundling (USC) - bye
[2] Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) - bye
Round of 32 -- Fri., Oct. 22
[6] Lucassen/Poldma (USC) def. Fanselow/Turner (PEP) - 9-8
[4] Nguyen/Sundling (USC) def. Keplar/Sofaer (PEP) - 8-6
[2] Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) def. Jacobs/Keplar (CP) - 8-3
Round of 16 - Sat. Oct. 23
Nicholas/Vaglietti (SDSU) def. [6] Lucassen/Poldma (USC) - 8-5
[4] Nguyen/Sundling (USC) def. [9] Bridge/Dome (CP) - 8-5
[2] Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) def. Gast/TaBaTruong (UCLA) - 8-2
Quarterfinals - Sat. Oct. 23
[5] Llompart/Tearney (PEP) def. [4] Nguyen/Sundling (USC) - 8-4
[2] Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) def. Clarke/Hovhannisyan (PEP) - 8-3
Semifinals - Sun., Oct. 24
[2] Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) def. [9] Gould/Kearney (UCI) - 8-5
Championship - Mon., Oct. 25
[1] Inbar/Meister (UCLA) def [2] Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) -- 9-7
CONSOLATION SINGLES
Round of 64
Joel Giger (USC) -- bye
Michael Grant (USC) def. [17] Alex Brigham (UCLA) - 7-5, 7-6
Round of 32
Thibaut Visy (USD) def. Joel Gger (USC) -- 6-2, 7-5
Michael Grant (USC) def. Giovanni Vagilietti (SDSU) - 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-3)
Round of 16
Michael Grant (USC) def. Austin Anders (UCR) - 7-5, 6-2
Quarterfinals
Michael Grant (USC) def. Nils Schive (USD) - 6-2, 6-0
Semifinals
Michael Grant (USC) def. Jenson Turner (PEP) - n/a
Championship
Michael Grant (USC) def. Thibaut Visy (USD) - 6-4, 6-3
Players Mentioned
