University of Oregon
USC
Ducks Fall at No. 5 USC
03/31/17 | Men's Tennis
NO. 23 OREGON OPENED ITS PAC-12 SEASON ON FRIDAY WITH A 5-0 LOSS AT NO. 5 USC
LOS ANGELES - The 23rd-ranked Oregon men's tennis team opened Pac-12 play on Friday afternoon with a 5-0 loss to No. 5 USC at Marks Tennis Stadium.
How it Happened: The Trojans (18-3, 1-0 Pac-12) started well in doubles, winning on the top two courts to claim the doubles point and take a 1-0 lead. Senior Jayson Amos and sophomore Armando Soemarno were hanging in with the 20th-ranked pair of Brandon Holt and Riley Smith at the top court when the point was clinched.
The Ducks (14-3, 0-1 Pac-12) played the Trojans tough in singles and put up a fight on all six courts, but USC was able to win four matches to seal the win. USC's Nick Crystal took down Simon Stevens at No. 2, 6-4, 6-1, after Stevens mounted a rally in the first set, and No. 47 Logan Smith (USC) edged out junior Akihiro Tanaka, 7-6 (2), 6-4, in a fast and competitive match at No. 3 to give USC a 3-0 advantage.
The Trojans clinched the match with near-simultaneous wins on courts four and five. Jack Haede (USC) snuck past Amos in a very tightly-played match, 7-5, 4-6, 6-2, to clinch the victory at No. 4, and Thibault Forget (USC) added another point with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 win over Cormac Clissold in a back-and-forth match at No. 5.
Sophomore Thomas Laurent, ranked 40th in the nation in singles with a 14-1 record in dual matches this spring, put up a terrific fight against No. 21 Holt (USC) at the top court. Laurent won the first set, 6-4, before Holt grabbed the second, 6-3, and the two were tied at 4-4 in the deciding set when the match was clinched. At No. 6, freshman Ty Gentry earned a 6-3 first-set win over Riley Smith (USC) before dropping the second, 4-6, and was tied, 3-3, at the conclusion of the match.
What it Means: The Ducks fall to 0-1 to open Pac-12 play, but proved that they have the talent and depth to hang with one of the top teams in the country. Oregon saw its six-match winning streak come to an end.
Notable: Amos remains at 90 career singles wins and needs just one more to become the all-time wins leader in UO history … The Trojans improved to 23-0 all-time against the Ducks … The match was broadcast live on Pac-12 Networks.
Up Next: The Ducks will stay in Los Angeles to face No. 10 UCLA on Saturday at 3 p.m.
FULL RESULTS
Doubles:
(1) #20 Holt/R. Smith (USC) vs. Amos/A. Soemarno (ORE) - 5-3 susp.
(2) Crystal/Verboven (USC) def. Clissold/Laurent (ORE) - 6-3
(3) Bellamy/Jaede (USC) def. Stevens/Tanaka (ORE) - 6-2
USC wins doubles point. Order of finish: 3, 2
SINGLES
(1) #21 Brandon Holt (USC) vs. #40 Thomas Laurent (ORE) - 4-6, 6-3, 4-4 susp.
(2) Nick Crystal (USC) def. Simon Stevens (ORE) - 6-4, 6-1
(3) #47 Logan Smith (USC) def. Akihiro Tanaka (ORE) - 7-6 (2), 6-4
(4) Jack Jaede (USC) def. Jayson Amos (ORE) - 7-5, 4-6, 6-2*
(5) Thibault Forget (USC) def. Cormac Clissold (ORE) - 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
(6) Riley Smith (USC) vs. Ty Gentry (ORE) - 3-6, 6-4, 3-3 susp.
Order of finish: 2, 3, 4*, 5
Players Mentioned
