Four Trojans Dig In For NCAA Individual Action In Winston-Salem

THIS WEEK

After making a push to the NCAA Team Quarterfinals and closing down team action with a 20-9 overall record, USC men's tennis turns to individual action out in Winston-Salem, N.C. with four Trojans locked in for the next stretch of NCAA play. A 9-17 seed in the NCAA Singles draw, sophomore Brandon Holt is USC's lone soldier on the singles scene for the second straight season. Holt and fellow sophomore Riley Smith are bound for the NCAA Doubles draw once again as well, this year joined by juniors Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven, who have earned a 5-8 seed into this year's NCAA Doubles bracket. NCAA Singles play begins tomorrow (May 23) and continues through May 28. NCAA Doubles starts with Round of 32 play on Thursday (May 24) and also runs to the title matches on May 28. All the action is being held at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex.

SINGLES SCENE

The No. 11 singles player in the land, Brandon Holt enters his second NCAA Singles appearance 23-11 overall and as a 9-16 seed. Last year as a freshman, Holt took a three-set loss in the opening round of singles play in Athens, Ga. This year, Holt opens his NCAA Singles push with a first-round matchup against Florida State's Guy Iradukunda at 11:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday (May 23) for the right to move on.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Making their NCAA debuts this year are USC juniors Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven, who have secured a 5-8 seed into the 2018 NCAA Doubles bracket. Relative veterans of NCAA action now, sophomores Brandon Holt and Riley Smith are also back in the mix. The four Trojans have all upgraded their rankings from last season, with Jaede and Verboven standing tallest among them all, ranked as the No. 9 doubles team in the nation. Jaede/Verboven boast a 30-7 overall record after a 10-match win streak came to an end in the NCAA Team Quarterfinals just days ago. Now ranked No. 10 in the nation, Holt/Smith holds a 16-4 mark entering NCAA Doubles play. Both teams went a perfect 7-0 in doubles play during the Pac-12 regular season. Last year as freshmen, Holt and Smith fell in the first round in doubles to a 5-8 seeded pair from Oklahoma State.

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 May 3) have the Trojans back in the top-10, now at No. 10 to stay in line with their No. 10 seed into NCAA action. In the latest individual rankings (released May 3), sophomore Brandon Holt remains the frontrunner for the Trojans, ranked No. 11 in the nation in singles. Freshman Daniel Cukierman, meanwhile, now sits at No. 74, with Logan Smith on the scene at No. 123. In doubles, USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven still have a leg up over teammates Brandon Holt and Riley Smith in this week's national rankings. Jaede and Verboven now rank No. 9 in the nation, and Holt and Smith stand at No. 10 in the land.

USC IN NC

In the Trojans' 12th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament, the Trojans punched their ticket to Winston-Salem with a 4-1 First Round win over UC Santa Barbara and a 4-0 win over Harvard in the Second Round on USC's home turf. Days later, USC was off to the Wake Forest Tennis Complex as the No. 10 seed with a battle against No. 7 seeded North Carolina in the NCAA Round of 16. Jet lag, indoor adjustments and a close-to-hometown crowd proved no obstacles for USC in that one as the Trojans topped the Tarheels 4-2 at the Wake Forest Indoor Tennis Center.

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 seven-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 the NCAA Quarterfinal round next, USC went toe-to-toe against No. 2 seed and crosstown rival UCLA in the teams' fourth meeting of the season, this one played out at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex, and this one going in the Bruins' favor in a tight 4-3 decision. After dropping two rare matches in doubles, the Trojans gutted it out to fight back from a 2-0 deficit, snagging a 3-2 lead as Daniel Cukierman, Riley Smith and Laurens Verboven strung together a run of three wins in singles. UCLA was able to overcome, however, netting wins on courts six and one to wrap a hard-fought battle far from home and move on to the semifinals. USC ends its 2018 campaign with a 20-9 overall record — its 12 20-win season under head coach Peter Smith — after making the program's 10th NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in the last 12 years.

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.

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

Thibault Forget

Brandon Holt

Jack Jaede

Logan Smith

Riley Smith

Laurens Verboven