Daniel Cukierman To Play For SoCal Intercollegiate Singles Crown

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — USC sophomore Daniel Cukierman will compete for his first collegiate singles title tomorrow (Oct. 29) after staging a semifinal comeback today at the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships at Marks Stadium. Top-seeded Cukierman will take on the No. 2 seed in the singles draw — Stanford's Sameer Kumar — at 11 a.m. to decide the singles champion at this 62nd edition of the SoCal event.

Cukierman's day today began in the doubles realm, as he teamed up with junior teammate Riley Smith for a semifinal matchup against Rotsaert/Sridhar of Stanford. After a tight first set, the Cardinal duo was able to create some space against the Trojans in the second, winning it 7-5, 6-3 to wrap Cukierman and Smith's doubles run. So, too, did another Trojan pair have their run come to a close in the semifinals, also at the hands of a Stanford duo. Freshman-senior combo Bradley Frye and Jack Jaede were up against the No. 2 seeded team in Kumar/Sah. The Cardinal topped the Trojans in that one 6-3, 6-0 to move into tomorrow's final.

Cukierman would rebound from that doubles defeat, however. The top seed squared off against No. 3 seeded Andre Rotsaert of Stanford in the singles semi. After surrendering the first set, Cukierman came back with a vengeance on his home courts, fighting to a 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory to take his place in tomorrow's Southern California Intercollegiate title match.

In consolation singles play, freshman Frye also got some redemption after the morning's doubles loss. He's through to the consolation final tomorrow after a swift 6-2, 6-1 win over Cal Poly's Antoine Noel today. Frye is set to face Matheus Leite of Texas Tech in the final.

USC results and schedule below. For complete draws, go to https://tennislink.usta.com/tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=226682#&&s=7

62nd ANNUAL SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA INTERCOLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIPS (Marks Stadium | Los Angeles, Calif.)

SINGLES
MAIN DRAW
Round of 32 - Oct. 26
[1] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Artem Kapshuk (TTech) - 6-0, 4-6, 6-4
[6] Joshua Ortlip (CP) def. Bradley Frye (USC) - 6-3, 7-5
[5] #125 Jack Jaede (USC) def. Jakob Schnaitter (APU) - 6-2, 6-1
Riley Smith (USC) def. Gardiner Perotti (SMU) - 6-2, 6-4

Round of 16 - Oct. 26
[1] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Timothy Sah (STAN) - 6-4, 6-2
[5] #125 Jack Jaede (USC) def. Carlos Donat Arjona (PORT) - 6-3, 6-2
Riley Smith (USC) def. [8] Ilgiz Valiev (TTech) - 6-4, 6-4

Quarterfinals - Oct. 27
[1] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Eric Hahn (UCLA) - 6-2, 6-3
[4] Joseph Guillin (UCSB) def. [5] #125 Jack Jaede (USC) - 6-3, 6-7, 6-4
[2] Sameer Kumar (STAN) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 4-6, 7-5, 7-6

Semifinals - Oct. 28
[1] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. [3] Andre Rotsaert (STAN) - 2-6, 6-3, 6-2

Championship - Oct. 29
[1] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) vs. [2] Sameer Kumar (STAN) - 11 a.m.

CONSOLATION
First Round - Oct. 27
Bradley Frye (USC) vs. Connor Rapp (UCLA) - w/o

Quarterfinals - Oct. 27
Bradley Frye (USC) def. Hironori Koyanagi (UCSB) - 6-2, 7-5

Semifinals - Oct. 28
Bradley Frye (USC) def. Antoine Noel (CP) - 6-2, 6-1

Championship - Oct. 29
Bradley Frye (USC) vs. Matheus Leite (TXTECH)

QUALIFYING
First Round - Oct. 25
Bradley Frye (USC) - bye

Second Round - Oct. 25
Bradley Frye (USC) def. Pratt Keerasuntonpong (USD) - 6-3, 2-6, 1-0 (10-8)

DOUBLES
Round of 16 - Oct. 27
Daniel Cukierman / Riley Smith (USC) def. Mylnikov/Thomson (TTech) - 8-4
Bradley Frye / Jack Jaede (USC) def. Lopez/Smolicki (UCI) - 8-4

Quarterfinals - Oct. 27
Daniel Cukierman / Riley Smith (USC) def. Barthe/Krasnov (UCI) - 8-2
Bradley Frye / Jack Jaede (USC) def. Pereira/Wild (UCLA) - 8-6

Semifinals - Oct. 28
Rotsaert/Sridhar (STAN) def. Daniel Cukierman / Riley Smith (USC) - 7-5, 6-3
[2] Kumar/Sah (STAN) def. Bradley Frye / Jack Jaede (USC) - 6-3, 6-0

Players Mentioned

Daniel Cukierman

Bradley Frye

Jack Jaede

Riley Smith