USC
Duke
No. 2 Trojans Edged By Duke 4-3
February 18, 2011 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 18, 2011
SEATTLE, WASH. - The No. 2 USC men's tennis team was dealt its first loss of the season with a 4-3 decision at the hands of No. 17 Duke during the first round of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Seattle. The Trojans fought to tie things up late in the game, but the Blue Devils captured a three-setter to clinch the battle. USC is now 7-1 overall and will face the loser of today's Stanford-Florida match in tomorrow's consolation round.
USC pulled out the doubles point for the early edge when the Trojans wrapped wins on courts three and two around a loss at No. 1. A new pairing of Steve Johnson and Michael Grant opened with an 8-3 win at the No. 3 slot. At No. 1, USC's Emilio Gomez / Daniel Nguyen went up against the nation's #9 team in Cunha/Carleton and took an 8-4 loss to even the score. On court two, Jaak Poldma and JT Sundling secured that first point for the Trojans with an 8-6 victory to bring up singles action.
Duke pulled even when USC freshman Ray Sarmiento had to retire due to injury during his second set on court four. The Trojans would steal back ahead on #38 Jaak Poldma's 7-5, 6-3 win over Chris Mengel at the No. 3 slot, but things would even up once again when Emilio Gomez was upended 7-6 (6), 6-1 at the No. 5 position. The Blue Devils would work into the lead next, however, as Luke Marchese pulled out a three-set victory over USC's JT Sundling on court six, getting a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 decision in Duke's favor for a 3-2 lead. USC's top gun, #4 Steve Johnson, was in a powerful battle with Duke's #10 Henrique Cunha, and the Trojan worked out a 6-4, 6-7 (5), 6-2 victory to level the score at 3-3. That put the decider on court two, where #6 Reid Carleton of Duke was up against USC's #16 Daniel Nguyen. Nguyen had captured a tight first set, but Carleton forced a third by claiming the second in a tiebreak. The Blue Devil was able to get ahead of the Trojan in the third set, however, as Duke pulled out the win on Carleton's 5-7, 7-6 (3), 6-3 win.
USC will now face Stanford in tomorrow's consolation match in Seattle.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM INDOOR CHAMPIONSHIPS
#15 Duke 4, #2 USC 3
Feb. 18, 2011 - Seattle, Wash.
DOUBLES
(1) #9 Cunha/Carleton (DUKE) def. Nguyen/Gomez (USC), 8-4
(2) Poldma/Sundling (USC) def. Pinsky/Saba (DUKE), 8-6
(3) Johnson/Grant (USC) def. Mengel/Holland (DUKE), 8-3
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2
SINGLES
(1) #4 Steve Johnson (USC) def. #10 Henrique Cunha (DUKE), 6-4, 6-7 [5], 6-2
(2) #6 Reid Carleton (DUKE) def. #16 Daniel Nguyen 5-7, 7-6 [3], 6-3
(3) #38 Jaak Poldma (USC) def. Chris Mengel (DUKE), 7-5, 6-3
(4) Fred Saba (DUKE) def. #37 Raymond Sarmiento (USC), 6-4, 4-2 [inj.]
(5) Jared Pinsky (DUKE) def. Emilio Gomez (USC), 7-6 [6], 6-1
(6) Luke Marchese (DUKE) def. JT Sundling (USC) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
Order of finish: 4, 3, 5, 6, 1, 2
Players Mentioned
