Friday, May 18
Winston-Salem, NC
6:00 AM
USC
4
vs
2
North Carolina
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Photo by: Bill Kallenberg
No. 10 USC Serves Up 4-2 Upset of No. 6 Seed UNC To Advance to NCAA Quarterfinals
May 18, 2018 | Men's Tennis, Features
Trojans upend the Tarheels in the Round of 16 with the clincher coming from senior Thibault Forget in Winston-Salem.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Jet lag, indoor adjustments and a close-to-hometown crowd were no obstacles for the USC men's tennis team today as the No. 10 seeded Trojans persevered for an NCAA Round of 16 upset of No. 7 seed North Carolina, topping the Tarheels 4-2 at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center in Winston-Salem, N.C. The victory sets up a rematch against crosstown rival UCLA in the NCAA Quarterfinals, taking the rivalry clash into the Eastern Time Zone with a 10 a.m. ET quarterfinal clash on Sunday (May 20). Now 20-8 overall on the year, USC has recorded is 12th 20-win season under head coach Peter Smith, who has also won five NCAA Championships in 15 previous seasons at Troy.
In USC's 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Round of 16, the Trojans gained early ground with a strong showing in doubles to snag the first point of the day. But the Tarheels countered by taking the first sets on courts five, one and six to put some pressure on the Trojans. The turnaround would come with rallying cries from Daniel Cukierman and Laurens Verboven, who turned the tide on their opponents as each strung together 7-game winning surges on courts two and four to get USC some momentum. They would capture wins for the Trojan cause, setting up senior Thibault Forget for the comeback clincher on court five to log the 4-2 win for USC.
As singles play unfurled, North Carolina caught the first burst of momentum in taking the first sets on three courts before #74 Daniel Cukierman started the turnaround in fighting off a 2-5 deficit to win the first set 7-5 against #32 Benjamin Sigouin on court two. Meanwhile, Laurens Verboven was mirroring that effort, digging out of a 2-5 first-set hole to notch a 7-5 win over #90 Robert Kelly on court four. While they were getting the Trojan team back in the game, UNC was able to register its first point as #3 William Blumberg topped USC's #11 Brandon Holt 6-3, 6-0 on court one. Verboven followed that with a go-ahead point for the Trojans on his 7-5, 6-4 finish over Kelly to make it 2-1 USC. Again, UNC reeled the Trojans back in on Mac Kiger's 6-4, 6-4 win over USC sophomore Riley Smith at the No. 6 spot. But by then, USC had its eyes locked on the prize. While junior Jack Jaede was creating some space over Simon Soendergaard on court three, USC freshman Cukierman edged out UNC's Sigouin in a solid tiebreaker to get USC up 3-2 on his 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory. That would set the table for senior Thibault Forget's heroics. After stumbling out of the gates in his court five clash against Bo Boyden, Forget forged ahead in the second set to bring up a third. There, the veteran would make a late move to victory, securing victory for his Trojans on a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback clincher.
USC now will face rival UCLA for the fourth time this season, looking to maneuver into the NCAA semifinals with what would be Trojans' first win of the year over the Bruins. USC and UCLA will tangle at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday (May 20) in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Winston-Salem, N.C. USC's last NCAA Quarterfinal appearance was in 2015. USC's last national championship was in 2014.
2018 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (hosted by Wake Forest | Winston-Salem, N.C.)
ROUND OF 16
[10] #10 USC 4, [7] #6 North Carolina 2
May 18, 2018 | Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
DOUBLES
(1) #10 Holt/R. Smith (USC) vs. #2 Blumberg/Kelly - 6-6 (1-3) susp.
(2) #9 Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Boyden/Sigouin - 6-4
(3) Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) def. Kiger/Kodali - 7-6 (3)
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 2, 3
SINGLES
(1) #3 William Blumberg (UNC) def. #11 Brandon Holt (USC) - 6-3, 6-0
(2) #74 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #32 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) - 7-5, 7-6 (2)
(3) Jack Jaede (USC) vs. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) - 6-7 (5), 6-2, 2-0 susp.
(4) Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #90 Robert Kelly (UNC) - 7-5, 6-4
(5) Thibault Forget (USC) def. Bo Boyden (UNC) - 3-6, 6-1, 6-4*
(6) Mac Kiger (UNC) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 4, 6, 2, 5*
In USC's 12th consecutive trip to the NCAA Round of 16, the Trojans gained early ground with a strong showing in doubles to snag the first point of the day. But the Tarheels countered by taking the first sets on courts five, one and six to put some pressure on the Trojans. The turnaround would come with rallying cries from Daniel Cukierman and Laurens Verboven, who turned the tide on their opponents as each strung together 7-game winning surges on courts two and four to get USC some momentum. They would capture wins for the Trojan cause, setting up senior Thibault Forget for the comeback clincher on court five to log the 4-2 win for USC.
In doubles, USC's streaking #9 Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven got up an early break and stayed the course for a 6-4 win on court two, beating UNC's Boyden/Sigouin for the Trojan pair's 10th consecutive win. On courts one and three, meanwhile, both battles raged into tiebreakers. At the No. 3 spot, it was USC's Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith who shoved through to the win, securing the doubles point for USC with their 7-6 (3) win over UNC's Kiger/Kodali. A top-10 clash between USC's #10 Brandon Holt and Riley Smith and UNC's #2 Blumberg/Kelly was then suspended with the Tarheels up 3-1 in that breaker.
As singles play unfurled, North Carolina caught the first burst of momentum in taking the first sets on three courts before #74 Daniel Cukierman started the turnaround in fighting off a 2-5 deficit to win the first set 7-5 against #32 Benjamin Sigouin on court two. Meanwhile, Laurens Verboven was mirroring that effort, digging out of a 2-5 first-set hole to notch a 7-5 win over #90 Robert Kelly on court four. While they were getting the Trojan team back in the game, UNC was able to register its first point as #3 William Blumberg topped USC's #11 Brandon Holt 6-3, 6-0 on court one. Verboven followed that with a go-ahead point for the Trojans on his 7-5, 6-4 finish over Kelly to make it 2-1 USC. Again, UNC reeled the Trojans back in on Mac Kiger's 6-4, 6-4 win over USC sophomore Riley Smith at the No. 6 spot. But by then, USC had its eyes locked on the prize. While junior Jack Jaede was creating some space over Simon Soendergaard on court three, USC freshman Cukierman edged out UNC's Sigouin in a solid tiebreaker to get USC up 3-2 on his 7-5, 7-6 (2) victory. That would set the table for senior Thibault Forget's heroics. After stumbling out of the gates in his court five clash against Bo Boyden, Forget forged ahead in the second set to bring up a third. There, the veteran would make a late move to victory, securing victory for his Trojans on a 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback clincher.
USC now will face rival UCLA for the fourth time this season, looking to maneuver into the NCAA semifinals with what would be Trojans' first win of the year over the Bruins. USC and UCLA will tangle at 10 a.m. ET on Sunday (May 20) in the NCAA Quarterfinals in Winston-Salem, N.C. USC's last NCAA Quarterfinal appearance was in 2015. USC's last national championship was in 2014.
2018 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (hosted by Wake Forest | Winston-Salem, N.C.)
ROUND OF 16
[10] #10 USC 4, [7] #6 North Carolina 2
May 18, 2018 | Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
DOUBLES
(1) #10 Holt/R. Smith (USC) vs. #2 Blumberg/Kelly - 6-6 (1-3) susp.
(2) #9 Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Boyden/Sigouin - 6-4
(3) Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) def. Kiger/Kodali - 7-6 (3)
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 2, 3
SINGLES
(1) #3 William Blumberg (UNC) def. #11 Brandon Holt (USC) - 6-3, 6-0
(2) #74 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #32 Benjamin Sigouin (UNC) - 7-5, 7-6 (2)
(3) Jack Jaede (USC) vs. Simon Soendergaard (UNC) - 6-7 (5), 6-2, 2-0 susp.
(4) Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #90 Robert Kelly (UNC) - 7-5, 6-4
(5) Thibault Forget (USC) def. Bo Boyden (UNC) - 3-6, 6-1, 6-4*
(6) Mac Kiger (UNC) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 6-4, 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 4, 6, 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
