No. 13 USC Men Head North For First Pac-12 Action Of The Year

THIS WEEK

No. 13 USC digs into its first Pac-12 matches of the year this week, taking a trip through the Pacific Northwest in search of a winning start to conference competition. The Trojans (8-3) first head to Seattle for a 5 p.m. faceoff against Washington on Friday (March 9). Then, it's over to Eugene to take on No. 40 Oregon at 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 10).

ORACLE/ITA RANKINGS UPDATES

For the 11th straight season, the USC men's tennis team kicked off the new year ranked in the nation's top-10 of the Oracle/ITA rankings, ranked No. 5 in the land to start the spring season. The latest ITA team rankings (released March 6) have the Trojans standing at No. 13. In the latest individual rankings (released March 6), sophomore Brandon Holt remains the frontrunner for the Trojans, now ranked No. 12 in the nation in singles. Freshman Daniel Cukierman, meanwhile, has risen to No. 64. In doubles, USC's Brandon Holt and Riley Smith rank No. 26 in the nation, with teammates Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven popping into the rankings for the first time at No. 52 in the land.

SCOUTING UW

The Huskies are 8-5 overall after defeating Portland State 7-0 last week. Washington has two players nationally ranked in singles: #73 Mitch Stewart and #86 Jake Douglas. Washington does not have any nationally ranked doubles teams. In a series dating back to 1963, USC holds a 28-5 all-time record over Washington. The Trojans secured their 28th victory over the Huskies last season with a 6-1 victory in Los Angeles.

SCOUTING UO

The No. 40 Ducks are 9-4 overall after defeating Wisconsin 5-2 on February 9. Oregon has #13 Thomas Laurent nationally ranked in singles, and one doubles pair nationally ranked, #22 Clissold/Laurent. In a series dating back to 1972, USC has never lost to the Ducks and holds a 23-0 all-time record over Oregon. USC remained undefeated over Oregon with a 5-0 victory last season in Los Angeles.

LAST WEEK

USC had an eventful stretch last week, visiting rival UCLA for a nonconference clash in Westwood before setting up camp in La Jolla for a dual match against San Diego and then a run of doubles play at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships. In a Tuesday road match against No. 4 UCLA, the doubles point slipped into Bruin hands to open things. USC tallied a couple singles wins from Laurens Verboven and Daniel Cukierman to get the Trojans within one, but UCLA got the clincher in a three-setter on court four to notch a 4-2 win over the visiting Trojans. Two days later in La Jolla, USC scooped up a 6-1 win under sunny skies at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club, taking tight doubles point before firing off five straight singles wins to top No. 38 San Diego. Coming through with the clincher for the fifth time this season was USC freshman Daniel Cukierman at the No. 2 spot. In the weekend doubles action, USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven worked their way to the title at the Pacific Coast Doubles Championships, topping UCLA's Rapp/Smith in the final out at the La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club. The open tournament also featured a couple player-coach combos for the Trojans, as head coach Peter Smith paired up with sophomore Brandon Holt as the top seeded team in the draw. That Trojan tandem was ousted in the Round of 32. Also paired up was associate head coach Kris Kwinta and senior Jens Sweaney, who were bumped out in the Round of 64. USC's most successful pair — winners Jaede and Verboven — was the No. 5 seeded team. They were due to square off against fellow Trojans Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith in the semifinals, but their teammates had to retire due to illness. Also in action at the event was USC duo Jake DeVine and Logan Smith, who opened with a couple wins before falling in the Round of 32. Finally, USC had senior Thibault Forget and freshman Mateusz Smolicki teamed up, with that Trojan duo grabbing an opening sun but falling to the No. 9 seeded pair in the next round.

ITA INDOORS ACTION

In its 10th straight trip to the event, USC went 2-1 out at the 2018 ITA National Indoor Championships in Seattle. The Trojans faced three top-10 opponents and knocked off two of them, topping No. 9 Oklahoma State in the first round to square off against No. 1 Wake Forest in the quarterfinals. The Demon Deacons would fend off the Trojans for a 4-2 decision that advanced the eventual champion to the semi. USC, meanwhile, would wrap its time in Seattle with a 4-1 upset of No. 4 Georgia. At the end of all the action, USC had doubles duo Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith named to the All-Tournament Team at the No. 3 doubles position. The pair won all three of their matches at the event to help anchor the Trojans.

BY THE NUMBERS

As dual match play heats up, five Trojans have hit double digits in the singles win column. Sophomore Brandon Holt leads the pack with 16 singles wins. Jake DeVine has 12 wins, with a trio of Trojans following close behind. Laurens Verboven grips 11 wins to date, while Logan Smith and Tanner Smith have 10 apiece. In the doubles realm, the hottest hands belong to Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven, who are off to a 12-4 start thanks in part to a perfect 7-0 record together during the month of January. Two Trojan tandems boast perfect records together to date, with Tanner Smith teaming up for perfect 6-0 marks with both Cukierman and Verboven so far.

SHERWOOD CHAMPS

In the opening individual action of the new year, the USC men's tennis team stretched its muscles at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup and found success on the doubles courts. In competition featuring players from UCLA, Stanford and Baylor, it was the Trojan doubles duo of Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven that emerged victorious, sweeping through to the double title today out at the Sherwood Country Club. One of two USC doubles duos in the mix for this one, the No. 3 seeded pairing of Jaede and Verboven proved a force to reckon with, surrendering no more than three games in each contest across the three-day event. The closest affair was the title match, where Jaede/Verboven took down top-seeded Genender/Kumar of Stanford with a 6-3 decision after having topped UCLA's No. 2 seeded Rapp/Smith decisively, 6-2, in the morning's semifinals. this season.

PRESEASON PICKS

The first set of 2017-18 individual rankings came out during the fall as preseason rankings, which had five Trojans ranked in singles and one ranked doubles team. Sophomore Brandon Holt was the frontrunner for the Trojans, ranked No. 11 in the nation in singles and No. 6 in doubles with trusty sophomore teammate Riley Smith. Next in line in singles was No. 54 junior Logan Smith, followed by No. 82 junior Jack Jaede, No. 96 senior Thibault Forget and No. 120 sophomore Riley Smith.

LAST SEASON

The 2017 Trojans — under the direction of head coach Peter Smith for the 15th season — locked up the Pac-12 Tournament Championship and went on to reach the NCAA Round of 16. Along the way, Smith gathered in his 600th career win as a head coach. Freshman Brandon Holt emerged as an ITA All-American in singles after going 35-9 overall and wrapping the year ranked No. 17 in the nation. Also named the ITA Southwest Region's Rookie of the Year and Player to Watch sophomore Logan Smith (23-18 overall) ended up No. 94 in the nation, while senior Nick Crystal (16-14 overall) completed his USC career ranked No. 107. Crystal also paired with USC sophomore Laurens Verboven at No. 73 in the land with a 24-7 overall record. Holt and Riley Smith finished their first season together as Trojans ranked No. 11 in the nation - just a spot short of All-American honors. As a team, USC finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 6 in the nation after posting a 27-6 overall record with a run to the NCAA Round of 16 in Athens, Ga.

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Players Mentioned

Nick Crystal

Daniel Cukierman

Jake DeVine

Thibault Forget

Brandon Holt

Jack Jaede

Logan Smith

Riley Smith

Tanner Smith

Mateusz Smolicki

Jens Sweaney

Laurens Verboven