No. 13 USC Men Battle No. 2 Bruins Friday At Marks Stadium

THIS WEEK

This week, USC men's tennis preps for another epic battle with crosstown rival UCLA. The No. 13 Trojans (12-6, 3-1 Pac-12) play host to this year's Pac-12 class between the two power programs, bringing the No. 2 Bruins (19-2, 4-0) to Marks Stadium for a 3 p.m. showdown on Friday (April 6).

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 April 3) have the Trojans standing at No. 13. In the latest individual rankings (released April 3), sophomore Brandon Holt remains the frontrunner for the Trojans, now ranked No. 13 in the nation in singles. Freshman Daniel Cukierman, meanwhile, now sits at No. 75, with Logan Smith on the scene at No. 103. In doubles, USC's Brandon Holt and Riley Smith rank No. 9 in the nation, with teammates Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven standing at No. 24 in the land.

SCOUTING UCLA

The No. 2 Bruins are 19-2 overall and 4-0 in Pac-12 play after beating No. 3 Stanford and No. 30 Cal each 4-0 last week. UCLA has four players nationally ranked in singles: #1 Martin Redlicki, #46 Keegan Smith, #69 Logan Staggs and #84 Evan Zhu. In doubles, UCLA has #11 A. Rapp/Smith and#36 Redlicki/Zhu in the rankings. In a series dating back to 1929, USC holds a 95-110 all-time record over UCLA. The teams last met earlier this season in Westwood, with the Bruins marking a 4-2 win over the visiting Trojans. Last year, the teams split in four meeting. UCLA won 4-3 in the first round of the 2017 ITA National Team Indoor Championships in Charlottesville, Va.; USC won 4-1 at Marks Stadium; the Bruins won 4-1 in their Pac-12 meeting in Westwood; and USC won the 2017 Pac-12 Tournament Championship with a 4-3 win over UCLA in Ojai.

LAST ACTION

USC came up with a Pac-12 split last week on home turf, beating No. 30 California 4-2 before taking a 4-2 loss to No. 3 Stanford at Marks Stadium. Against the Golden Bears, the Trojans through in the clutch with a couple three-set victories that sealed an important conference win. A quick doubles point gave way to a long stretch of singles play as the Golden Bears closed in to tie things up at 2-2 before USC had Laurens Verboven and Thibault Forget pull off tight three-set decisions on courts three and six, respectively. The following day against the Cardinal, USC had the early upper hand after winning doubles and getting another singles win from Forget, but Stanford caught a winning wave to fight back and claim a 4-2 win over the Trojans.

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 rolls along, seven Trojans have hit double digits in the singles win column. Sophomore Brandon Holt leads the pack with 19 singles wins. Jake DeVine and Laurens Verboven hold 15 each, with a set of Trojans following close behind. Jack Jaede has collected 13 wins; Tanner Smith has 11; while Logan Smith and Daniel Cukierman grip 10 apiece. In the doubles realm, the hottest hands belong to Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven, who have cracked the 20-win barrier with a 21-6 mark that is due in part to a perfect 7-0 record together during the month of January. Meanwhile, Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith have gathered in a 12-2 record together to date.

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 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. Jaede and Verboven have continued to impress as USC's winningest doubles duo, gripping a 21-6 overall record and an 11-5 mark together in dual-match play.

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

Daniel Cukierman

Jake DeVine

Thibault Forget

Brandon Holt

Jack Jaede

Logan Smith

Riley Smith

Tanner Smith

Laurens Verboven