Saturday, March 9
Salt Lake City, UT
1:00 PM
USC
4
at
2
Utah
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
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 19 USC Men Snag Pac-12 Road Win At Utah
March 09, 2019 | Men's Tennis, Features
Jake Sands clinches it for the Trojans from court five.
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH — The No. 19 USC men's tennis team jumped out to an early lead at No. 41 host Utah before the Utes fired back to put some pressure on the visiting Trojans. On court five, freshman Jake Sands would hold his ground in a tight third set to clinch victory for USC with a 4-2 decision in an indoor clash in Salt Lake City. USC improves to 8-5 overall and takes a 1-0 start to Pac-12 competition with today's road win.
USC had the upper hand in doubles, claiming two decisive victories to pocket the opening point of the match. On court one, USC's #28 Brandon Holt and Riley Smith topped Utah's Shainyan/Micevski 6-2 just before USC's senior duo of Jack Jaede and Laurens Verboven notched a 6-3 win on court two over Utah's Little/Cory.
In singles play, USC kept its foot on the gas in picking up two straight-set wins to build out a 3-0 lead. On court four, Mor Bulis whipped up a 6-4, 6-4 win over Utah's Russell Benkaim to make it 2-0, and then #55 Tanner Smith powered up for a 6-4, 7-6 victory over Joe Woolley at the No. 6 spot. The Utes would fire back, however, with a couple straight-set decisions of their own to make things interesting. At the top spot, Utah's #64 Dan Little managed a 7-5, 7-5 win over USC's #16 Brandon Holt to cut it to 3-1. Next, David Micevski got the better of USC's #51 Logan Smith on court two, getting the Utes in reach with his 7-6, 6-3 win that made it 3-2. Third sets would come up on courts three and five, and that's where the Trojans locked back in. Freshman Jake Sands came through with the decider with his 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 victory over Mathias Gavelin on court five, and USC had the 4-2 win in hand, suspending action on court three where Riley Smith was looking to finish off Slava Shainyan.
Next up for the Trojans is a trip to Indian Wells for competition at the BNP Paribas Open Collegiate Tennis Challenge, running March 15-17.
#19 USC 4, #41 Utah 2
March 9, 2019 | Salt Lake City, Utah
DOUBLES
(1) #28 Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. Shainyan/Micevski (UTAH) - 6-2
(2) Jaede/Verboven (USC) def. Little/Cory (UTAH) - 6-3
(3) Frye/T. Smith (USC) vs. Woolley/Benkaim (UTAH) - 6-5 susp.
Order of finish: 1, 2
USC wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #64 Dan Little (UTAH) def. #16 Brandon Holt (USC) - 7-5, 7-5
(2) David Micevski (UTAH) def. #51 Logan Smith (USC) - 7-6, 6-3
(3) Slava Shainyan (UTAH) vs. Riley Smith (USC) - 6-4, 6-7, 6-5 susp.
(4) Mor Bulls (USC) def. Russell Benkaim (UTAH) - 6-4, 6-4
(5) Jake Sands (USC) def. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) - 6-4, 4-6, 7-5*
(6) #55 Tanner Smith (USC) def. Joe Woolley (UTAH) - 6-4, 7-6
Order of finish: 4, 6, 1, 2, 5*
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