Saturday, February 9
Los Angeles, CA
1:00 PM
USC
3
vs
4
California
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: Hali Helfgott
No. 5 USC Men Edged Out 4-3 By California
February 09, 2019 | Men's Tennis, Features
Trojans take another tight loss at Marks Stadium.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 5 USC men's tennis team got stuck with its second 4-3 loss of the season as the Trojans were upended by visiting California today at Marks Stadium. USC dropped the doubles point and then fought back to take a 3-1 lead, only to see the Golden Bears string up a trio of three-set victories to seal the road win. USC goes to 5-2 overall with the loss.
The Golden Bears got a leg up in this one after USC and Cal split doubles wins on courts one and three. That put it all on court two, which came down to a tiebreaker that saw Cal's #17 Baretto/Kaya edge out USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven 7-6 (5) to plug a point in Cal's column. The day had started on a strong note for the Trojans, who had Brandon Holt and Riley Smith take down Cal's #8 pairing of Brymm/Kikuchi 6-4. Cal fired back and took court three 6-3 on Molloy/Zincirli's decision over USC's #21 Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith to leave the decider on court two.
WIth a 1-0 deficit for the Trojans on the board, USC looked to bounce back in singles. The early spark for USC came from freshman Jake Sands on court five. Sands stood his ground and churned out a smooth 6-3, 6-2 win to snarl the match score up 1-1. USC would fall in two first-set tiebreakers while court six stretched into a third set, but the Trojans would whip up a 3-1 lead shortly after. At the top spot, #56 Brandon Holt charged past Cal's Jacob Brumm for a 6-1, 6-3 win that made it 2-1. Next it was USC's #4 Daniel Cukierman who hit the finish line, tagging a 6-2, 6-3 win on the board over Cal's Paul Barretto to make it a 3-1 USC advantage.
That left three matches underway that were still very much undecided. On court six, Cal struck back with a three-set win to make it 3-2, as Ben Draper pulled out a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over USC's Tanner Smith. At the No. 3 spot, USC senior Jack Jaede had forced a third set with a bounceback second-set effort, but Cal's Yuti Kikuchi pulled ahead in the third and claimed a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 win that locked the match up 3-3 to bring it down to court four. There, USC's Riley Smith and Cal's Jack Molloy had each snagged a set in a tiebreaker, prompting another nailbiter in the third. Smith and Molloy stayed on serve until Molloy got up a break, 5-3. The Golden Bear would hold on for the winner, clinching the Cal victory with a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6), 6-3 decider.
USC's next action takes the Trojans on a road trip to Ohio State, where USC will face the Buckeyes in a clash on Tuesday (Feb. 12). From there, USC is off to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, running Feb. 15-18 in Chicago.
California 4, #5 USC 3
Feb. 9, 2019 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. #8 Brumm/Kikuchi (CAL) - 6-4
(2) #17 Baretto/Kaya (CAL) def. Jaede/Verboven (USC) - 7-6 (5)
(3) Molloy/Zincirli (CAL) def. #21 Cukierman/T. Smith - 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Cal wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #56 Brandon Holt (USC) def. Jacob Brumm (CAL) - 6-1, 6-3
(2) #4 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Paul Barretto (CAL) - 6-2, 6-3
(3) Yuta Kikuchi (CAL) def. Jack Jaede (USC) - 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4
(4) Jack Molloy (CAL) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6), 6-3*
(5) Jake Sands (USC) def. Bjorn Hoffman (CAL) - 6-3, 6-2
(6) Ben Draper (CAL) def. #50 Tanner Smith (USC) - 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 6, 3, 4*
The Golden Bears got a leg up in this one after USC and Cal split doubles wins on courts one and three. That put it all on court two, which came down to a tiebreaker that saw Cal's #17 Baretto/Kaya edge out USC's Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven 7-6 (5) to plug a point in Cal's column. The day had started on a strong note for the Trojans, who had Brandon Holt and Riley Smith take down Cal's #8 pairing of Brymm/Kikuchi 6-4. Cal fired back and took court three 6-3 on Molloy/Zincirli's decision over USC's #21 Daniel Cukierman and Tanner Smith to leave the decider on court two.
WIth a 1-0 deficit for the Trojans on the board, USC looked to bounce back in singles. The early spark for USC came from freshman Jake Sands on court five. Sands stood his ground and churned out a smooth 6-3, 6-2 win to snarl the match score up 1-1. USC would fall in two first-set tiebreakers while court six stretched into a third set, but the Trojans would whip up a 3-1 lead shortly after. At the top spot, #56 Brandon Holt charged past Cal's Jacob Brumm for a 6-1, 6-3 win that made it 2-1. Next it was USC's #4 Daniel Cukierman who hit the finish line, tagging a 6-2, 6-3 win on the board over Cal's Paul Barretto to make it a 3-1 USC advantage.
That left three matches underway that were still very much undecided. On court six, Cal struck back with a three-set win to make it 3-2, as Ben Draper pulled out a 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 win over USC's Tanner Smith. At the No. 3 spot, USC senior Jack Jaede had forced a third set with a bounceback second-set effort, but Cal's Yuti Kikuchi pulled ahead in the third and claimed a 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4 win that locked the match up 3-3 to bring it down to court four. There, USC's Riley Smith and Cal's Jack Molloy had each snagged a set in a tiebreaker, prompting another nailbiter in the third. Smith and Molloy stayed on serve until Molloy got up a break, 5-3. The Golden Bear would hold on for the winner, clinching the Cal victory with a 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6), 6-3 decider.
USC's next action takes the Trojans on a road trip to Ohio State, where USC will face the Buckeyes in a clash on Tuesday (Feb. 12). From there, USC is off to the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, running Feb. 15-18 in Chicago.
California 4, #5 USC 3
Feb. 9, 2019 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. #8 Brumm/Kikuchi (CAL) - 6-4
(2) #17 Baretto/Kaya (CAL) def. Jaede/Verboven (USC) - 7-6 (5)
(3) Molloy/Zincirli (CAL) def. #21 Cukierman/T. Smith - 6-3
Order of finish: 1, 3, 2
Cal wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #56 Brandon Holt (USC) def. Jacob Brumm (CAL) - 6-1, 6-3
(2) #4 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Paul Barretto (CAL) - 6-2, 6-3
(3) Yuta Kikuchi (CAL) def. Jack Jaede (USC) - 7-6 (4), 5-7, 6-4
(4) Jack Molloy (CAL) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 7-6 (3), 6-7 (6), 6-3*
(5) Jake Sands (USC) def. Bjorn Hoffman (CAL) - 6-3, 6-2
(6) Ben Draper (CAL) def. #50 Tanner Smith (USC) - 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
Order of finish: 5, 1, 2, 6, 3, 4*
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