Singles Success For Trojans In Malibu and Milwaukee

Day one is done for a set of USC men's tennis players in their first action of 2018-19, and three Trojans saw singles success in two different states. In Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic, Jake DeVine netted a Round of 64 win to move on to tomorrow's Round of 32, where teammate Logan Smith will start his singles run after a first-round bye today. Meanwhile, in Malibu, Daniel Cukierman and Laurens Verboven each strung up solid Round of 32 singles victories to more on to Round of 16 action tomorrow. Their mixed doubles runs, however, came to a close this evening after morning wins were followed by defeat with their respective partners in closing a long day of competition out at the Oracle ITA Masters in Malibu.

Redshirt junior Jake DeVine — tabbed as the No. 10 seed in the singles draw at the Milwaukee Tennis Classic — scored a smooth 6-2, 6-3 win over Minnesota's Jesse Sprinkle in today's opening round. He'll square off against Wisconsin's Robert Krill tomorrow in the Round of 32, while teammate Logan Smith — the No. 1 seed in the singles draw — takes on Illinois' Gui Gomes. The Trojan pair will also team up for doubles play tomorrow in Milwaukee.

For sophomore Daniel Cukierman and senior Laurens Verboven, the long day started early with morning mixed doubles play. Cukierman was teamed up with USC freshman Salma Ewing, and the two Trojans took down their Round of 32 opponents 6-4 to advance. Verboven, meanwhile, was partnered with UCLA's Elysia Bolton, and that Trojan-Bruin duo also posted a 6-4 win to move on. Before that, however, there was singles play to take care of in the afternoon. The No. 2 seed in the singles draw, Cukierman delivered a 6-1, 6-1 win over Marquette's Alvaro Verdu in the opening Round of 32. No. 6 seed Verboven would also see success, dispatching Belmont's Hedrik Inno 6-2, 6-3 to step into tomorrow's singles Round of 16. The evening's ensuing round of mixed doubles did not fare as well, however, as both Trojans were defeated with their partners to wrap their runs in that bracket.

Tomorrow also brings up the first action of the season for four more Trojans at the Battle in the Bay in San Francisco. Freshmen Bradley Frye and Jack Sands see their first competition as Trojans with Round of 32 singles play tomorrow afternoon, joined by junior Brandon Holt and redshirt senior Tanner Smith, who are lined up for singles play and will also partner up for doubles action this weekend in San Francisco.

All USC results and schedule at the three events are listed below.

MILWAUKEE TENNIS CLASSIC (Milwaukee, Wisc.)

SINGLES
First Round - Sept. 20
[1] #81 Logan Smith (USC) - bye
[10] Jake DeVine (USC) def. Jesse Sprinkle (Minnesota) - 6-2, 6-3

Round of 32 - Sept. 21
[1] #81 Logan Smith (USC) vs. Gui Gomes (Illinois)
[10] Jake DeVine (USC) vs. Robert Krill (Wisconsin)

DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 21
[1] Jake DeVine / Logan Smith (USC) - bye

ORACLE ITA MASTERS (Malibu, Calif.)

SINGLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 20
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. Hedrik Inno (Belmont) - 6-2, 6-3
[2] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Alvaro Verdu (Marquette) - 6-1, 6-1

Round of 16 - Sept. 21
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) vs. Guanarteme Nuex (UT Arlington)
[2] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) vs. Stefan Milicevic (Minnesota)

MIXED DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 20
[3] Daniel Cukierman (USC) / Salma Ewing (USC) def. Evans (UIW)/Golanova (Illinois State) - 6-4
[2] Laurens Verboven (USC) / Bolton (UCLA) def. Efrim/Szentes (Alabama State) - 6-4

Round of 16 - Sept. 20
Sigsgaard (TEX)/Oosterhout (HAR) def. [3] Daniel Cukierman (USC) / Salma Ewing (USC) - 6-4
Oetzbach/Levashova (PEP) def. [2] Laurens Verboven (USC) / Bolton (UCLA) - 6-4

BATTLE IN THE BAY (San Francisco, Calif.)

SINGLES
First Round - Sept. 21
Tanner Smith (USC) - bye
Jake Sands (USC) - bye
Bradley Frye (USC) - bye
[2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) - bye

Round of 32 - Sept. 21
Tanner Smith (USC) vs. TBD - 2 p.m.
Jake Sands (USC) vs. TBD - 2:30 p.m.
Bradley Frye (USC) vs. TBD - 2:30 p.m.
[2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) vs. TBD - 4:30 p.m.

DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 21
Bradley Frye / Jake Sands (USC) vs. Draper/Molloy (Cal) - 8:30 a.m.
[2] Brandon Holt / Tanner Smith (USC) - bye

Round of 16 - Sept. 22
[2] Brandon Holt / Tanner Smith (USC) vs. TBD - 8:30 a.m.

Players Mentioned

Daniel Cukierman

Jake DeVine

Bradley Frye

Brandon Holt

Jake Sands

Logan Smith

Tanner Smith

Laurens Verboven