USC
Georgia (Semifinals)
No. 1 USC Hits A Shot At ITA Title
February 19, 2012 | Men's Tennis
Feb. 19, 2012
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - The top-ranked USC men's tennis team is in the final of the ITA National Team Indoor Championship for the first time since winning it all in 1991 after posting a 4-1 win over No. 4 Georgia today in the semifinals. This will be the Trojans' fifth time in the title match, with a 4-for-4 record in their previous championship appearances at the event (1976, 1977, 1985 and 1991). USC is now 10-0 on the year with today's victory over the Bulldogs.
"It was no surprise how difficult that match was," USC head coach Peter Smith said. "Georgia is a great program. They have a lot of talent and show a lot of fight. I thought we had the advantage in doubles going in. It was an absolute dogfight out there. I am proud of the way we played; we really showed the heart of a champion today. Ray (Sarmiento), Daniel (Nguyen), and Emilio (Gomez) really showed who we are in their matches. Emilio did a great job of coming back to win the last two sets. This year is going to be a daily challenge for Steve (Johnson). He is getting everybody's best shot. Guys are excited just to get to 3-2 against him. He definitely has to adjust to some things that most guys never have to, but he is a warrior and competitor."
It was Johnson who came through with the clincher in singles , beating Georgia's #21 Sadio DOumbia 6-4, 7-5 to follow up a gutsy comeback win from Emilio Gomez at the No. 4 spot. Gomez fought back against #43 Ignacio Taboada for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory that put USC ahead 3-1 in the match.
The Trojans had taken a 1-0 lead on solid doubles wins at the top two courts to put the pressure on Georgia in singles. The Bulldogs responded with a win on court six from Nathan Pasha over USC's #86 Roberto Quiroz - the freshman's first dual-match singles loss of the year. With it tied up 1-1, USC freshman Yannick Hanfmann lifted his Trojans back on top 2-1 with a straight-set win over #72 Hernus Pieters at the No. 5 spot. On courts two and three, USC's Ray Sarmiento and Daniel Nguyen had rebounded from losing the first set to take the second and force a third, but Johnson's heroics on court one sealed the deal for the Trojans to put them in tomorrow's title match.
USC will face either Virginia or Ohio State tomorrow in the championship match at 12 p.m. ET.
ITA NATIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS (Charlottesville, Va.)
Semifinals - Feb. 19
#1 USC 4, #4 Georgia 1
DOUBLES
(1) Hanfmann/S. Johnson (USC) def. #7 Brasseaux/Spencer (UGA) - 8-3
(2) Nguyen/Sarmiento (USC) def. Doumbia/Pieters (UGA) - 8-2
(3) Gomez/Quiroz (USC) vs. Pasha/Taboada (UGA) - 6-7 susp.
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 1, 2
SINGLES
(1) #11 Steve Johnson (USC) def. #21 Sadio Doumbia (UGA) - 6-4, 7-5*
(2) #18 Ray Sarmiento (USC) vs. #3 Wil Spencer (UGA) - 3-6, 6-4, 4-3 susp.
(3) #14 Daniel Nguyen (USC) vs. #55 KU Singh (UGA) - 4-6, 6-4, 1-5 susp.
(4) #47 Emilio Gomez (USC) def. #43 Ignacio Taboada (UGA) - 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
(5) #36 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #72 Hernus Pieters (UGA) - 6-3, 6-4
(6) Nathan Pasha (UGA) def. #86 Roberto Quiroz (USC) - 6-3, 6-1
Order of finish: 6, 5, 4, 1
Players Mentioned
