USC
UCLA
No. 7 USC Men Victorious Over Rival Bruins
March 02, 2011 | Men's Tennis
March 2, 2011
LOS ANGLES, CALIF. - The No. 7 USC men's tennis team took on rival UCLA Wednesday afternoon at Marks Stadium winning in convincing fashion as they beat the No. 6 Bruins 5-2. USC swept doubles play to start the match followed by wins in four of the six singles matches to secure the victory. The Trojans improve to 10-2 overall for the season.
The Men of Troy got the day off to a good start as the #48 tandem of Steve Johnson and Ray Sarmiento disposed of the #47 team of Brigham/Inbar 8-5 on center court. Daniel Nguyen and Emilio Gomez looked equally impressive as they defeated Hardie/Kosakowski 8-6 on court three. With the doubles point already decided Jaak Poldma and JT Sundling kept things rolling for USC with an 8-6 win over Puget/Seguso from the No. 2 slot.
The Trojans carried the momentum over to singles play as freshman Emilio Gomez dominated #108 Maxime Tabatruong in straight sets 6-2, 6-1 to gain the early advantage from court five. USC stumbled as #19 Daniel Nguyen fell to Amit Inbar 6-4, 6-2 in the second slot.
The Men of Troy got a boost from #44 Jaak Poldma as he came through with his 11th straight win, 6-2, 6-3 over #99 Clay Thompson on court three. With the match on the line, #1 Steve Johnson looked strong as he mixed in an array of drop-shots and blazing forehand winners to defeat #43 Daniel Kosakowski 6-2, 6-2 pushing his win streak to nine and securing the win for USC.
Although the match had been decided, UCLA struck back with a win on court six as Holden Seguso beat JT Sundling in straight sets 6-3, 6-2.
Intensity wasn't lacking as the day's final point was still up in the air in the No. 4 slot. After falling in the first set, #56 Ray Sarmiento rallied to take down Adrien Puget 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7) and close out play for the match.
USC returns to action March 4-6 at the Pacific Coast Doubles Tournament in La Jolla, Calif.
#7 USC 5, #6 UCLA 2
March 2, 2011 - Marks Stadium
Doubles
(1) #48 Johnson/Sarmiento (USC) def. #47 Brigham/Inbar (UCLA) - 8-5
(2) Poldma/Sundling (USC) def. Puget/Seguso (UCLA) - 8-6
(3) Nguyen/Gomez (USC) def. Hardie/Kosakowski (UCLA) - 8-4
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
USC wins doubles point
Singles
(1) #1 Steve Johnson (USC) def. #43 Daniel Kosakowski (UCLA) - 6-2, 6-2
(2) Amit Inbar (UCLA) def. #19 Daniel Nguyen (USC) -6-4, 6-2
(3) #44 Jaak Poldma (USC) def. #99 Clay Thompson (UCLA) - 6-2, 6-3
(4) #56 Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. Adrien Puget (UCLA) - 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
(5) Emilio Gomez (USC) def. #108 Maxime Tabatruong (UCLA) - 6-2, 6-1
(6) Holden Seguso (UCLA) def. JT Sundling (USC) -6-3, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 2, 3, 1*, 6, 4
USC wins 5-2
Players Mentioned
