Saturday, April 20
Los Angeles, CA
3:00 PM
USC
4
vs
2
Arizona State
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: John McGillen
No. 10 USC Men Overcome No. 27 ASU To Take Second In Pac-12 Play
April 20, 2019 | Men's Tennis, Features
Laurens Verboven gets the clincher to improve USC to 17-7 overall with a 7-1 finish in conference action.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 10 USC men's tennis team dug out of a doubles hole and got the job done in singles to beat No. 27 Arizona State 4-2 in the Trojans' regular-season finale today at Marks Stadium. Coming through with the key singles rally for USC were Daniel Cukierman and Mor Bulis, who got USC into the lead. Brandon Holt added to the count, and then Laurens Verboven answered an ASU win with the clincher from court three to tug USC to 17-7 overall and to a 7-1 finish in Pac-12 play, securing the No. 2 seed into the coming Pac-12 Tournament in Ojai.
The Sun Devils came to play in making a strong showing in doubles. ASU drummed up a 6-3 win on court three as Rakotomalalo/Roberts topped USC's Daniel Cukierman and Jack Jaede early. The other two matches stayed tight, but it was ASU that came through with a tiebreak win on court two to take the opening point, with Bolla/Reuhl edging out USC's Riley and Tanner Smith 7-6 (3).
USC would claim the opening sets on five courts in singles, but the match remained a battle. On court two, #16 Daniel Cukierman gave USC a lift in pulling the Trojans even on his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Dominik Kellovsky. Moments later his fellow Israeli Mor Bulis got the Trojans a leg up with a smooth 6-2, 6-1 win over Makey Rakotomalalo on court six. USC padded its advantage when #10 Brandon Holt topped ASU's #75 Nathan Ponwith 6-3, 6-2 at the top spot, making it 3-1 Trojans. The Sun Devils were undeterred, however, and got one back with Andrea Bolla's 6-4, 7-5 win over Riley Smith on court five. With the score at 3-2 USC, Trojan senior #26 Laurens Verboven answered the call and manufactured a 7-6 (2), 6-3 clincher over Justin Roberts at the No. 3 spot, and USC had its winning weekend complete on a 4-2 decision over ASU.
Next up for the Trojans is a trip to Ojai to engage in action at the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament (https://pac-12.com/tennis/championships), where USC takes a spot as the No. 2 seed and lines up against No 7 seed Washington at 3 p.m. on Thursday (April 25) in the quarterfinal round.
#10 USC 4, #27 Arizona State 2
April 20, 2019 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) Holt/Verboven (USC) vs. #11 Kellovsky/Ponwith (ASU) - 6-5 susp.
(2) Bolla/Ruehl (ASU) def. R. Smith/T. Smith (USC) - 7-6 (3)
(3) Rakotomalalo/Roberts (ASU) def. Cukierman/Jaede (USC) - 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2
ASU wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #10 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #75 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) - 6-3, 6-2
(2) #16 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) - 6-3, 6-2
(3) #26 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. Justin Roberts (ASU) - 7-6 (2), 6-3*
(4) #77 Logan Smith (USC) vs. Tim Ruehl (ASU) - 7-6 (5), 2-3 susp.
(5) Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 6-4, 7-5
(6) Mor Bulis (USC) def. Makey Rakotomalalo (ASU) - 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 5, 3*
The Sun Devils came to play in making a strong showing in doubles. ASU drummed up a 6-3 win on court three as Rakotomalalo/Roberts topped USC's Daniel Cukierman and Jack Jaede early. The other two matches stayed tight, but it was ASU that came through with a tiebreak win on court two to take the opening point, with Bolla/Reuhl edging out USC's Riley and Tanner Smith 7-6 (3).
USC would claim the opening sets on five courts in singles, but the match remained a battle. On court two, #16 Daniel Cukierman gave USC a lift in pulling the Trojans even on his 6-3, 6-2 victory over Dominik Kellovsky. Moments later his fellow Israeli Mor Bulis got the Trojans a leg up with a smooth 6-2, 6-1 win over Makey Rakotomalalo on court six. USC padded its advantage when #10 Brandon Holt topped ASU's #75 Nathan Ponwith 6-3, 6-2 at the top spot, making it 3-1 Trojans. The Sun Devils were undeterred, however, and got one back with Andrea Bolla's 6-4, 7-5 win over Riley Smith on court five. With the score at 3-2 USC, Trojan senior #26 Laurens Verboven answered the call and manufactured a 7-6 (2), 6-3 clincher over Justin Roberts at the No. 3 spot, and USC had its winning weekend complete on a 4-2 decision over ASU.
Next up for the Trojans is a trip to Ojai to engage in action at the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament (https://pac-12.com/tennis/championships), where USC takes a spot as the No. 2 seed and lines up against No 7 seed Washington at 3 p.m. on Thursday (April 25) in the quarterfinal round.
#10 USC 4, #27 Arizona State 2
April 20, 2019 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) Holt/Verboven (USC) vs. #11 Kellovsky/Ponwith (ASU) - 6-5 susp.
(2) Bolla/Ruehl (ASU) def. R. Smith/T. Smith (USC) - 7-6 (3)
(3) Rakotomalalo/Roberts (ASU) def. Cukierman/Jaede (USC) - 6-3
Order of finish: 3, 2
ASU wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #10 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #75 Nathan Ponwith (ASU) - 6-3, 6-2
(2) #16 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Dominik Kellovsky (ASU) - 6-3, 6-2
(3) #26 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. Justin Roberts (ASU) - 7-6 (2), 6-3*
(4) #77 Logan Smith (USC) vs. Tim Ruehl (ASU) - 7-6 (5), 2-3 susp.
(5) Andrea Bolla (ASU) def. Riley Smith (USC) - 6-4, 7-5
(6) Mor Bulis (USC) def. Makey Rakotomalalo (ASU) - 6-2, 6-1
Order of finish: 2, 6, 1, 5, 3*
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