Friday, February 8
Los Angeles, CA
3:00 PM
USC
3
vs
4
Stanford
Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
Daniel Cukierman won in doubles and singles vs. Stanford at Marks Stadium.
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 5 USC Men Stumble With 4-3 Loss To No. 10 Stanford
February 08, 2019 | Men's Tennis, Features
Trojans take their first defeat of the year.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 5 USC men's tennis team stumbled in an exciting down-to-the-wire match at Marks Stadium, seeing No. 10 Stanford pass up the Trojans with a late run in singles to net a 4-3 comeback win today. USC got up 3-1 in the match before the Cardinal snagged wins on courts six, three and four to pocket the win over its host. USC goes to 5-1 with the loss.
Doubles play was a tight affair with Stanford coming up with the opening victory on a. 6-4 decision by Cardinal pair Geller/Rotsaert over USC's top guns Brandon Holt and Riley Smith. The Trojans fired right back with a 6-4 win on court three by #21 Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith to put all eyes on court two. There, the Trojans and Cardinal stretched into a deciding tiebreaker, where Stanford's Kumar/Sah stole into an early 4-1 advantage before USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven edged back in. The veteran Trojan pair would take the breaker 8-6 to pin a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard for USC.
As singles play unfurled the Trojans got up a set on all courts but two. Stanford would strike first with a 6-0, 6-2 win on court five from Michael Genender over USC's #94 Jake DeVine. USC issued a quick-fire response as #4 Daniel Cukierman whipped up a 6-4, 6-1 win over #81 Alexandre Rotsaert on court two, and USC was back on top 2-1. Next up, it was USC's #56 Brandon Holt coming up with a top-10 takedown of Stanford's #10 Axel Geller on court one, and USC gripped a 3-1 advantage with three courts still going. Those three matches stretched to past sundown, with Stanford sneaking closer with a win on court six from Sangeet Sridhar over USC freshman Jake Sands. The 7-5 (4), 6-4 win made it 3-2 Trojans with three-setters still underway on courts three and four. The Cardinal would get up a break in both third sets, and Stanford was able to fight back for the comeback victory. At the No. 3 spot, it was Stanford's #33 William Genender who upended USC's Riley Smith 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to tie things up 3-3. Then on court four, Stanford's #43 Sameer Kumar finished off a comeback push to beat USC freshman Mor Bulis 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 and wrap the match as a 4-3 Stanford win.
USC now turns to take on California in a 1 p.m. faceoff tomorrow (Feb. 9) at Marks Stadium.
#10 Stanford 4, #5 USC 3
Feb. 8, 2019 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) Geller/Rotsaert (STAN) def. Holt/R. Smith (USC) - 6-4
(2) Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Kumar/Sah (STAN) - 7-6 (6)
(3) #21 Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) def. Barber/Genesen (STAN) - 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
USC wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #56 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #10 Axel Geller (STAN) - 6-2, 6-4
(2) #4 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #61 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) - 6-4, 6-1
(3) #33 William Genesen (STAN) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
(4) #43 Sameer Kumar (STAN) def. Mor Bulis (USC) - 5-7, 7-5, 6-3*
(5) Michael Genender (STAN) def. #94 Jake DeVine (USC) - 6-0, 6-2
(6) Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) def. Jake Sands (USC) - 7-6 (4), 6-4
Order of finish: 5, 2, 1, 6, 3, 4*
Doubles play was a tight affair with Stanford coming up with the opening victory on a. 6-4 decision by Cardinal pair Geller/Rotsaert over USC's top guns Brandon Holt and Riley Smith. The Trojans fired right back with a 6-4 win on court three by #21 Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith to put all eyes on court two. There, the Trojans and Cardinal stretched into a deciding tiebreaker, where Stanford's Kumar/Sah stole into an early 4-1 advantage before USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven edged back in. The veteran Trojan pair would take the breaker 8-6 to pin a 1-0 lead on the scoreboard for USC.
As singles play unfurled the Trojans got up a set on all courts but two. Stanford would strike first with a 6-0, 6-2 win on court five from Michael Genender over USC's #94 Jake DeVine. USC issued a quick-fire response as #4 Daniel Cukierman whipped up a 6-4, 6-1 win over #81 Alexandre Rotsaert on court two, and USC was back on top 2-1. Next up, it was USC's #56 Brandon Holt coming up with a top-10 takedown of Stanford's #10 Axel Geller on court one, and USC gripped a 3-1 advantage with three courts still going. Those three matches stretched to past sundown, with Stanford sneaking closer with a win on court six from Sangeet Sridhar over USC freshman Jake Sands. The 7-5 (4), 6-4 win made it 3-2 Trojans with three-setters still underway on courts three and four. The Cardinal would get up a break in both third sets, and Stanford was able to fight back for the comeback victory. At the No. 3 spot, it was Stanford's #33 William Genender who upended USC's Riley Smith 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 to tie things up 3-3. Then on court four, Stanford's #43 Sameer Kumar finished off a comeback push to beat USC freshman Mor Bulis 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 and wrap the match as a 4-3 Stanford win.
USC now turns to take on California in a 1 p.m. faceoff tomorrow (Feb. 9) at Marks Stadium.
#10 Stanford 4, #5 USC 3
Feb. 8, 2019 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) Geller/Rotsaert (STAN) def. Holt/R. Smith (USC) - 6-4
(2) Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Kumar/Sah (STAN) - 7-6 (6)
(3) #21 Cukierman/T. Smith (USC) def. Barber/Genesen (STAN) - 6-4
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
USC wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #56 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #10 Axel Geller (STAN) - 6-2, 6-4
(2) #4 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #61 Alexandre Rotsaert (STAN) - 6-4, 6-1
(3) #33 William Genesen (STAN) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
(4) #43 Sameer Kumar (STAN) def. Mor Bulis (USC) - 5-7, 7-5, 6-3*
(5) Michael Genender (STAN) def. #94 Jake DeVine (USC) - 6-0, 6-2
(6) Sangeet Sridhar (STAN) def. Jake Sands (USC) - 7-6 (4), 6-4
Order of finish: 5, 2, 1, 6, 3, 4*
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
