USC
UNLV (1st Round)
The Trojans Take Down UNLV In NCAA First Round
May 13, 2016 | Men's Tennis
LOS ANGELES - The No. 11 USC men's tennis team opened NCAA Tournament play by defeating UNLV 4-0 in the First Round on Friday (May 13) in Marks Stadium. The Trojans improve their season record to 16-6 with the victory in their 10th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
USC opened the afternoon of competition with a win from the USC pair of Thibault Forget/ Max de Vroome as they defeated UNLV's Neto/Brown 6-3 on court two. Courts one and three were locked in battle with their Rebel opponents, but the #46 Trojan duo of Nick Crystal/ Laurens Verboven pushed ahead to clinch the doubles point with their 7-5 victory on court one. After the doubles point was secured, court three's competition between USC's Rob Bellamy/ Tanner Smith and UNLV's Cozbinov/Solberg was suspended.
The Trojans began singles play on a high note. USC's No. 121 Thibalut Forget carried over his positive momentum from his doubles victory into his singles game. He blasted through his match versus UNLV's Evaldo Neto finishing with a decisive 6-1, 6-2 score.
Shortly thereafter, Jack Jaede followed suit on court five as he seized his match versus Rebel Adam Gage-Brown 6-1, 6-2. Jaede's swift victory notched another point for the Trojans to increase their lead to 3-0.
While the remaining courts were locked in battle, it appeared as if USC's Rob Bellamy would be the next to claim a win. The crowd moved down to court six to cheer on and support the Trojan. Bellamy defeated UNLV's Richard Solberg 6-2, 6-2 to clinch the match for USC and to move the team forward to the next round of the tournament.
"Today was a great first step for us," head coach Peter Smith said. "Jack Jaede and Rob Bellamy really stepped up and led our team today."
Earlier in the day, No. 32 Georgia Tech defeated No. 44 UC Santa Barbara 4-1 after a tight battle in the First Round. The Yellow Jackets improve to 17-8 overall. The Trojans are 2-0 in their series with Georgia Tech.
The Trojans will take on Georgia Tech tomorrow (May 14) at 1 p.m. in the NCAA Second Round at Marks Stadium.
May 13, 2016 -- Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
May 13, 2016 -- Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Players Mentioned
