Sunday, March 18
Winston-Salem, NC
10:00 AM
USC
1
at
4
Wake Forest
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Photo by: Hali Helfgott
Top-Ranked Wake Forest Beats No. 11 Trojans 4-1
March 18, 2018 | Men's Tennis, Features
USC hits the road to face the nation’s top team and host of the coming NCAA Tournament.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — The No. 11 USC men's tennis team took a trip to the site of the coming NCAA Tournament to take on the top-ranked team in the nation and fell 4-1 to No. 1 Wake Forest today in Winston-Salem, N.C. USC goes to 11-5 overall with the road loss.
USC had a new look to the lineup today without the services of Brandon Holt and Daniel Cukierman due to injury, but the Trojans still went toe-to-toe with the Demon Deacons. After Wake Forest's Gadjuev/Gojo topped USC's Tanner Smith and Mateusz Smolicki 6-4 on court three doubles, two more tight matches were going strong. On court one, USC's #52 Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven pushed #5 Chrysochos/Mansouri to the limit before the hosts pulled out a 7-5 win to take the double point and suspend a close one on court two with USC's Thibault Forget and Riley Smith hanging with Dempster/Seraphim.
In singles, Jack Jaede took over the No. 1 position for the first time in his Trojan career, facing Wake Forest's #26 Borna Gojo. Jaede would snag the first set with a gutsy tiebreak win before Gojo grabbed the second set to push into a third set. They would not get a chance to decide their match on court one, however, as the Demon Deacons were able to notch wins on courts two, six and three to get the victory. Wake Forest got out to a 2-0 lead when Alan Gadjiev beat USC's Tanner Smith 6-2, 6-4 on court six. Then, Wake Forest's highest ranked player, #8 Petros Chrysochos, maneuvered to a 6-2, 6-3 win over USC's Laurens Verboven, who was making his season debut at the No. 2 spot today. On court four, USC's Jake DeVine made it clear that the Trojans were not going away easy, scooping up a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Rrezart Cungu to get a point on the board for the Trojans. With the scoreboard reading 3-1 Wake Forest, the remaining matches would have to be decided in three sets, as Logan Smith had forced a third on court five while teammate Riley Smith was battling in his third set. Riley Smith had worked ahead of Wake Forest's #38 Skander Mansouri in the third, only to see the Demon Deacon surge back in front to claim the clincher with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win over Smith to make it 4-1 for the hosts. That suspended Logan Smith's and Jack Jaede's matches on courts five and one, respectively.
USC has a week off of competition ahead before the Trojans return to Pac-12 play in two weeks. USC will host Cal on March 30 and Stanford on March 31 at Marks Stadium.
#1 Wake Forest 4, #11 USC 1
March 18, 2018 | Winston-Salem, N.C.
DOUBLES
(1) #5 Chrysochos/Mansouri (WFU) def. #52 Jaede/Verboven (USC) - 7-5
(2) Forget/R. Smith (USC) vs. Dempster/Seraphim (WFU) - 5-6 susp.
(3) Gadjiev/Gojo (WFU) def. T. Smith/Smolicki (USC) - 6-4
WFU wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
(1) Jack Jaede (USC) vs. #26 Borna Gojo (WFU) - 7-6 (7), 4-6 susp.
(2) #8 Petros Chrysochos (WFU) def. Laurens Verboven (USC) - 6-2, 6-3
(3) #38 Skander Mansouri (WFU) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 3-6, 6-3, 6-4*
(4) Jake DeVine (USC) def. Rrezart Cungu (WFU) - 7-6 (5), 6-4
(5) Logan Smith (USC) vs. Julian Zlobinsky (WFU) - 4-6, 7-5, 2-2 susp.
(6) Alan Gadjiev (WFU) def. Tanner Smith (USC) - 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 2, 4, 3*
USC had a new look to the lineup today without the services of Brandon Holt and Daniel Cukierman due to injury, but the Trojans still went toe-to-toe with the Demon Deacons. After Wake Forest's Gadjuev/Gojo topped USC's Tanner Smith and Mateusz Smolicki 6-4 on court three doubles, two more tight matches were going strong. On court one, USC's #52 Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven pushed #5 Chrysochos/Mansouri to the limit before the hosts pulled out a 7-5 win to take the double point and suspend a close one on court two with USC's Thibault Forget and Riley Smith hanging with Dempster/Seraphim.
In singles, Jack Jaede took over the No. 1 position for the first time in his Trojan career, facing Wake Forest's #26 Borna Gojo. Jaede would snag the first set with a gutsy tiebreak win before Gojo grabbed the second set to push into a third set. They would not get a chance to decide their match on court one, however, as the Demon Deacons were able to notch wins on courts two, six and three to get the victory. Wake Forest got out to a 2-0 lead when Alan Gadjiev beat USC's Tanner Smith 6-2, 6-4 on court six. Then, Wake Forest's highest ranked player, #8 Petros Chrysochos, maneuvered to a 6-2, 6-3 win over USC's Laurens Verboven, who was making his season debut at the No. 2 spot today. On court four, USC's Jake DeVine made it clear that the Trojans were not going away easy, scooping up a 7-6 (5), 6-4 win over Rrezart Cungu to get a point on the board for the Trojans. With the scoreboard reading 3-1 Wake Forest, the remaining matches would have to be decided in three sets, as Logan Smith had forced a third on court five while teammate Riley Smith was battling in his third set. Riley Smith had worked ahead of Wake Forest's #38 Skander Mansouri in the third, only to see the Demon Deacon surge back in front to claim the clincher with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win over Smith to make it 4-1 for the hosts. That suspended Logan Smith's and Jack Jaede's matches on courts five and one, respectively.
USC has a week off of competition ahead before the Trojans return to Pac-12 play in two weeks. USC will host Cal on March 30 and Stanford on March 31 at Marks Stadium.
#1 Wake Forest 4, #11 USC 1
March 18, 2018 | Winston-Salem, N.C.
DOUBLES
(1) #5 Chrysochos/Mansouri (WFU) def. #52 Jaede/Verboven (USC) - 7-5
(2) Forget/R. Smith (USC) vs. Dempster/Seraphim (WFU) - 5-6 susp.
(3) Gadjiev/Gojo (WFU) def. T. Smith/Smolicki (USC) - 6-4
WFU wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 3, 1
SINGLES
(1) Jack Jaede (USC) vs. #26 Borna Gojo (WFU) - 7-6 (7), 4-6 susp.
(2) #8 Petros Chrysochos (WFU) def. Laurens Verboven (USC) - 6-2, 6-3
(3) #38 Skander Mansouri (WFU) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 3-6, 6-3, 6-4*
(4) Jake DeVine (USC) def. Rrezart Cungu (WFU) - 7-6 (5), 6-4
(5) Logan Smith (USC) vs. Julian Zlobinsky (WFU) - 4-6, 7-5, 2-2 susp.
(6) Alan Gadjiev (WFU) def. Tanner Smith (USC) - 6-2, 6-4
Order of finish: 6, 2, 4, 3*
USC Men's Tennis' Matteo Morazzi: Trojans Live 4.07.25
Monday, April 07
USC men's tennis wins Pac-12 Tournament title (4/29/23)
Sunday, April 30
