Friday, April 27
Ojai, CA
4:00 PM
USC
4
vs
0
Stanford
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 12 USC Men Take Down No. 4 Stanford To Step Into Another Pac-12 Title Match
April 27, 2018 | Men's Tennis, Features
Trojans will face the Bruins again in Ojai after USC’s 4-0 sweep of the Cardinal in today’s semifinal.
OJAI, CALIF. — The No. 12 USC men's tennis team exacted some timely revenge against No. 4 Stanford in serving up a smooth 4-0 upset of the Cardinal in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament today in Ojai. After taking a pair of losses to Stanford earlier in the season, the Trojans were all business in this one, securing the doubles point decisively on wins on courts one and two. USC would go on the string up three straight-set singles victories, sparked by Laurens Verboven with momentum carried by Daniel Cukierman and then capped off with Riley Smith's clincher. USC improves to 17-7 overall with the win, advancing to the Pac-12 championship match against rival UCLA tomorrow as the Trojans look to make it back-to-back tourney titles.
In singles, Laurens Verboven left no doubt in his No. 3 bout with Stanford's #92 Sameer Kumar, as the Trojan junior surrendered just a single game in the match to win it 6-1, 6-0 and made it a 2-0 USC advantage. Next, on court two, #82 Daniel Cukierman hit his stride and took down #74 Axel Geller with a powerful 6-2, 6-3 win that got USC in position for the big win. While #11 Brandon Holt was making moves toward a three-set comeback on court one, his doubles partner Riley Smith hit the finish line first and came through with the clincher on a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over David Wilczynski to secure USC's trip to the title match.
USC will face UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship for the fifth time in tournament history tomorrow (April 29) at 3 p.m. in a contest that will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. USC won last year's USC-UCLA title match in a 4-3 decision to take the 2017 crown.
2018 PAC-12 TOURNAMENT (Libbey Park | Ojai, Calif.)
SEMIFINAL
#12 USC 4, #4 Stanford 0
April 27, 2018 | Ojai, Calif.
DOUBLES
(1) #9 Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. #37 Kumar/Genender (STAN) - 6-2
(2) #7 Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. #24 Fawcett/Geller (STAN) - 6-2
(3) Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) vs. Fomba/Wilczynski (STAN) - 3-4 susp.
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 2, 1
SINGLES
(1) #11 Brandon Holt (USC) vs. #9 Tom Fawcett (STAN) - 1-6, 6-2, 5-2 susp.
(2) #82 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #74 Axel Geller (STAN) - 6-2, 6-3
(3) Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #92 Sameer Kumar (STAN) - 6-1, 6-0
(4) Thibault Forget (USC) vs. Eric Fomba (STAN) - 4-6, 5-4 susp.
(5) Riley Smith (USC) def. David Wilczynski (STAN) 7-6 (1), 6-3*
(6) Jake DeVine (USC) vs. Michael Genender (STAN) - 6-7 (4), 3-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5
To start up the day, USC's #7 tandem of Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven churned out their seventh straight win on a 6-2 decision over Stanford's #24 Fawcett/Geller on court two. That prepped USC's #9 pairing of Brandon Holt and Riley Smith to step up and notch their 11th consecutive win with an identical 6-2 victory over #37 Kumar/Genender at the top spot to lock in a 1-0 lead for the Trojans and suspend the court three match.
In singles, Laurens Verboven left no doubt in his No. 3 bout with Stanford's #92 Sameer Kumar, as the Trojan junior surrendered just a single game in the match to win it 6-1, 6-0 and made it a 2-0 USC advantage. Next, on court two, #82 Daniel Cukierman hit his stride and took down #74 Axel Geller with a powerful 6-2, 6-3 win that got USC in position for the big win. While #11 Brandon Holt was making moves toward a three-set comeback on court one, his doubles partner Riley Smith hit the finish line first and came through with the clincher on a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win over David Wilczynski to secure USC's trip to the title match.
USC will face UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship for the fifth time in tournament history tomorrow (April 29) at 3 p.m. in a contest that will be televised on Pac-12 Networks. USC won last year's USC-UCLA title match in a 4-3 decision to take the 2017 crown.
2018 PAC-12 TOURNAMENT (Libbey Park | Ojai, Calif.)
SEMIFINAL
#12 USC 4, #4 Stanford 0
April 27, 2018 | Ojai, Calif.
DOUBLES
(1) #9 Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. #37 Kumar/Genender (STAN) - 6-2
(2) #7 Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. #24 Fawcett/Geller (STAN) - 6-2
(3) Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) vs. Fomba/Wilczynski (STAN) - 3-4 susp.
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 2, 1
SINGLES
(1) #11 Brandon Holt (USC) vs. #9 Tom Fawcett (STAN) - 1-6, 6-2, 5-2 susp.
(2) #82 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #74 Axel Geller (STAN) - 6-2, 6-3
(3) Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #92 Sameer Kumar (STAN) - 6-1, 6-0
(4) Thibault Forget (USC) vs. Eric Fomba (STAN) - 4-6, 5-4 susp.
(5) Riley Smith (USC) def. David Wilczynski (STAN) 7-6 (1), 6-3*
(6) Jake DeVine (USC) vs. Michael Genender (STAN) - 6-7 (4), 3-2
Order of finish: 3, 2, 5
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
