No. 1 USC Men Pack Up For Pac-12 Clashes At Oregon And Washington

THIS WEEK

The top team in the land turns to conference action next, with a Pac-12 road trip on tap for the Trojans this week. No. 1 USC (11-1), opens up with a 2:30 p.m. meeting at Oregon on Friday (Feb. 29) in Eugene. From there, it's over to Seattle to take on Washington at 12 p.m. on Sunday (March 1).

MAKING THEIR MARKS

The 2020 Trojans are pulling some big numbers...

#1 team in the nation — last achieved Feb. 24, 2015

#1 player in the nation — last was Steve Johnson in 2012

4 ranked doubles teams — last time was June 5, 2013

ITA National Team Indoor Champion - last won 2012

ORACLE/ITA RANKINGS UPDATE

USC opened up 2020 as the No. 3 team in the preseason national Oracle/ITA rankings — a notable upgrade from last season's No. 8 finish and reflective of the depth of talent on the Trojans' roster. On Feb. 5, USC leapt to No. 1 in the nation — the first time at the top spot since Feb. 24, 2015 — and the Trojans remain on top in the latest set of national rankings (released Feb. 25). In the latest ITA individual rankings (released Feb. 18, 2020), USC has six Trojans ranked in singles. Daniel Cukierman looms largest as he continues to grip his #1 singles ranking, which set him as the first Trojan since 2012 to stand as the top-ranked player in the nation. Sticking with him in the top-25 are #15 Mor Bulis and #24 Brandon Holt. Three other Trojans are still slated in the singles rankings — #27 Riley Smith, #78 Stefan Dostanic and #83 Ryder Jackson. In doubles, USC still has four ranked pairs. Riley Smith weighs in on three of those, standing at #19 with Cukierman, #35 with Bradley Frye and #50 with Dostanic. Now sitting at #49 is Bulis and Holt.

SCOUTING OREGON

The Ducks are 9-3 overall after beating LMU 5-2 and losing to San Diego 4-0 last week. Oregon has #19 Joshua Charlton ranked in singles and #11 Charlton/Gentry ranked in singles. In a series dating back to 1972, USC is 25-0 all-time against Oregon after a 4-0 win over the Ducks last year in Los Angeles.

SCOUTING WASHINGTON

The Huskies are 8-4 overall after beating Sacramento State 6-1 and UC Davis 4-0 last week. Washington has two players ranked in singles #43 Jack Davis and #119 Ewen Lumsden — and no ranked doubles teams. In a series dating back to 1963, USC is 31-5 all-time against Washington after two 4-0 wins over the Huskies last year — first in Los Angeles and then in the Pac-12 Tournament quarterfinals in Ojai.

LAST WEEK

USC beat out the elements and scored back-to-back sweeps in a doubleheader at Marks Stadium on Saturday. In just the second meeting between USC and Air Force, the Trojans notched a 7-0 win over the visiting Falcons. After a rain delay, USC and Army squared off for the first time in program history, and the top-ranked Trojans held their ground for another 7-0 victory. With the morning's clear skies overhead, the Trojans took the courts against the Falcons for the first action of the day and quickly collected the doubles point with wins on courts three and two. USC's Bradley Frye and Ryder Jackson set the winning tone with a 6-2 win at the No. 3 slot, and then #50 Stefan Dostanic and Riley Smith secured the 1-0 lead with their 6-3 victory on court two, suspending action at the top spot. In singles, the Trojans had #79 Stefan Dostanic hit the gas and make it a speedy 2-0 advantage with his 6-2, 6-0 win over Justin Waldman on court five. From there, USC rattled off a swift stretch of straight-set wins. Top-ranked Daniel Cukierman built a 3-0 foundation for the Trojans with his 6-4, 6-4 win on court two, and then #24 Brandon Holt came through with the clincher on a 6-2, 6-3 victory on court one. The match played on, and a quick-fire run of USC victories followed. #15 Mor Bulis made it 5-0 with his 6-4, 6-2 decision at the No. 3 spot, and Bradley Frye stormed his way to a tiebreak victory on court five, victorious with a 6-2, 7-6 (2) decision. Bringing in the final point was Jake Sands on court six with a 6-4, 6-1 win that wrapped a 7-0 win and put a halt to action just in time for rain to stymie the start of the next matchup with Army. After a rain delay that pushed things back a bit, USC and Army would take the courts together for the first time in program history. The Trojans had a new-look doubles lineup with two fresh pairing sandwiching the #35 Bradley Frye and Riley Smith on court two. That duo would clean up a 6-0 win at that spot, followed quickly by Daniel Cukierman and Stefan Dostanic's 6-1 win at the top spot in their first doubles match together. That suspended Mor Bulis and Jake Sands' first battle on court three, and brought up singles play with USC up 1-0. USC stayed the course in singles, with Frye punching up a smooth 6-1, 6-1 win on court six to light the fuse. At the top spot, Holt produced a 6-0, 6-2 victory to nudge USC along in a winning direction, and Jackson pounced on the clincher with a 6-3, 6-1 decision. The match rolled along, with more straight-set wins in Trojan pockets, as Sands, Smith and Bulis rounded out the day's work with solid wins.

ITA INDOOR CHAMPIONS

The Trojans were the No. 2 seeds in the ITA National Team Indoor Championship draw, and opened with a tight 4-2 win over No. 11 TCU to move into the quarterfinals. There, USC was up against No. 8 Stanford for the second time this year, and the Trojans made quick work of the Cardinal in this one with a 4-0 sweep. In the semifinals, USC faced No. 13 Michigan, and the Trojans had their hands full. Down 3-1 to the Wolverines, the Trojans gutted out three three-set comebacks, capped by a tiebreak clincher from No. 1 Daniel Cukierman on court two. That got USC into the title match, where the Trojans had a rematch of last year's NCAA Round of 16 in facing off against North Carolina. The Tar Heels had ended USC's season in that round in 2019, and the Trojans were determined for payback. The doubles point came down to a tiebreaker on court one after the Tar Heels won a quick on one court three and USC's Mor Bulis and Brandon Holt responded with a quick-fire answer for the Trojans on court two. At the top spot, USC's #58 Daniel Cukierman and Riley Smith trailed in the tiebreaker, but battled back to claim a 7-6 (5) win over Blumberg/Cernoch and plug a 1-0 lead on the board for the Trojans. In singles, USC's #24 Brandon Holt, who had battled illness all week, had to retire from his match with William Blumberg on court one. That gave the Tar Heels a point to tie it up 1-1, but the Trojans were undeterred. Holt's fellow captain, #1 Daniel Cukierman, shouldered the load on court two and spun a 6-2, 6-1 win over #60 Ben Sigouin to tug the Trojans back ahead, up 2-1. Cukierman's straight-set trend continued for the Trojans. On court five, #65 freshman Stefan Dostanic stood tall with a smooth 6-1, 6-4 win over Brian Cernoch to get USC into winning position, up 3-1. As matches on courts three and six stayed tight, #15 Mor Bulis hit the gas in his match on court four. The sophomore secured the championship for his Trojans on his 6-3, 6-1 win over #80 Josh Peck, and USC hit celebration mode on the indoor courts in Madison. Cukierman was perfect in doubles and singles throughout the tourney, winning all four doubles matches with Riley Smith at the top spot and collecting four singles wins. Cukierman had the comeback clincher to beat No. 13 Michigan in the semifinals yesterday. He also posted a three-set clincher in the Round of 16 win over No. 11 TCU. Smith also was undefeated this week, winning those four doubles matches with Cukierman and claiming two singles wins with two matches suspended by Trojan victories.

DANIEL DOUBLES UP

USC junior captain Daniel Cukierman was perfect in doubles and singles throughout the ITA National Team Indoor Championship, helping anchor the top-ranked Trojans' run to the title at the event in Madison, Wisc. For his dominating efforts, Cukierman has been named the UTR/ITA Player of the Week for the first time while also landing his second selection of the year as Pac-12 Player of the Week on Feb. 18. In four USC wins in four days, Cukierman won all four doubles matches with Riley Smith at the top spot and collected four singles wins. Ranked #1 in the nation in singles, Cukierman had the comeback clincher to beat No. 13 Michigan in the semifinals on Sunday. He also posted a three-set clincher in the Round of 16 win over No. 11 TCU on Friday. His straight-set singles win in yesterday's championship match set the Trojans on a path to victory in a final 4-1 win over No. 5 North Carolina. In winning USC's fourth ITA National Team Indoor Championship, the Trojans also avenged a bitter loss taken to the Tar Heels in last year's NCAA Round of 16. Cukierman had opened the week on a winning note as well, getting a doubles win and then the clinching singles win for the Trojans in their 6-1 win over host Wisconsin last Tuesday to get the ball rolling on a winning week in Madison for the Trojans. Cukierman now grips a 24-2 overall singles record in his junior season. He and Smith are 9-1 in doubles play. USC, too, now boasts a 9-1 overall record on the year.

CUKIERMAN CLAIMS TWO CUPS

USC junior Daniel Cukierman double-dipped his way into two trophies at the Sherwood Collegiate Cup, claiming the singles crown on Jan. 20 after he and Riley Smith teamed up for the doubles title the day prior in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Top-ranked in the nation and the top seed in the singles draw, Cukierman had a bye in the opening round and would advance by walkover into the quarterfinals. There, he'd have to contend with his freshman teammates #37 Stefan Dostanic, and it was a battle. After three sets of work, Cukierman had bested his fellow Trojan 6-2, 2-6, 6-1 to take a spot in the semifinals and put an end to Dostanic's two-win start to the spring. In the semis, Cukierman was up against Stanford's Axel Geller, and the USC captain rolled to a straight-set victory that sent him into today's title match. Again, Cukierman would gut out a three-set decision, topping Stanford's #18 Alex Rotsaert 6-2, 4-6, 6-1 to claim the Sherwood Collegiate Cup singles championship. As he lifted the singles trophy in Thousand Oaks, Cukierman was not even 24 hours past the doubles championship that he had claimed alongside Riley Smith on the same court. Paired up for just the second time in their careers, Cukierman and Smith were the top-seeded pair in the doubles draw, earning a first-round bye before launching into their winning run. The two Trojans dispatched Texas A&M's Kumar/Schachter 6-3 in the quarterfinals and Stanford's Geller/Rajesh 7-5 in the semis before mirroring that score and edging out UCLA's Nanda/K. Smith in the title match. For his winning run at Sherwood, Cukierman claimed his first career Pac-12 Player of the Week award on Jan. 21.

BRANDON STAYS PERFECT

USC senior Brandon Holt hauled in his fourth career Pac-12 Player of the Week selection after a winning weekend of road work for the Trojans. With two singles and two doubles wins in the Bay Area, Holt kept his perfect slate clean this season, as he's now 7-0 in singles and 11-0 in doubles with the Trojans in 2019-20. Currently ranked #24 in the nation in singles, Holt is the second Trojan to win the award this year, following Daniel Cukierman, and he earned USC's 55th all-time award. At No. 11 Stanford, Holt combined forces with Mor Bulis for the clinching doubles point and later secured team victory for USC with a straight-set singles win on court one. The next day at No. 15 California, the Holt again got a doubles win with Bulis and cruised to the first singles win — straight sets again, this time over a ranked foe — to help USC along to another win.

FEARSOME FALL

In fall 2019, USC had Trojans win at least one individual title at five out of seven tournaments competed in. In addition, two Trojan freshmen reached tournament title matches:

SINGLES

Daniel Cukierman -— Oracle ITA Masters champion

Mor Bulis — Milwaukee Tennis Classic champion

Brandon Holt — Battle in the Bay champion

Stefan Dostanic — ITA Southwest Regional finalist

Ryder Jackson — SoCal Intercollegiate finalist

DOUBLES

Brandon Holt / Riley Smith — ITA Southwest Regional champions

Stefan Dostanic / Brandon Holt — Battle in the Bay champions

BY THE NUMBERS

USC's winningest player to date is top-ranked Daniel Cukierman, who has racked up 25 singles wins to beat out teammates Mor Bulis with 21 wins and Ryder Jackson with 19. In doubles, Cukierman and Riley Smith lead the pack with nine wins so far.

LAST SEASON

USC went 22-8 overall last year with a run to the NCAA Round of 16, finishing the 2019 season ranked No. 8 in the nation while also boasting honors as the Pac-12 Tournament Champion. In earning a No. 5 seed and reaching the NCAA Singles Quartefinals, Brandon Holt closed out his junior campaign as an ITA All-American once again, along with status as the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Holt was joined on the All-Pac-12 awards list by fellow first-teamer Daniel Cukierman, with Laurens Verboven earning second-team honors and Tanner Smith on the honorable mention list. Holt, Cukierman and Tanner Smith all earned a place in the NCAA Singles draw and secured first-round wins. Additionally Holt paired with Riley Smith in the NCAA Doubles draw.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Mor Bulis

Daniel Cukierman

Stefan Dostanic

Bradley Frye

Brandon Holt

Ryder Jackson

Jake Sands

Riley Smith

Tanner Smith

Laurens Verboven