Univ. of Southern California Team Page
ATHENS, GA. -- The No. 1 USC men's tennis team captured the university's 100th NCAA Championship on familiar ground, sticking to their guns as the top seed for a 4-2 comeback win over No. 2 seed Oklahoma tonight in Athens, Ga. The Trojans extended their national record of titles by fighting out of an 0-2 hole and finally capping things off onMax de Vroome's clincher on court four. The sophomore was playing in his first NCAA Championship match, but earned veteran status tonight as he finished off the Sooners, which also were making their first NCAA title match run. In the end, the Trojan experience and comfort under the lights of the Georgia courts was too much to take.
In posting a 32-3 overall record in 2014, USC has now won five NCAA Championships at Dan Magill Tennis Complex. The last was in 2012, when Yannick Hanfmann clinched a fourth consecutive national championship for the Trojan cause. Two years later, he was locked in at the No. 1 spot in singles for USC, and he'd prove worthy of the upgrade as he registered USC's first point of the game to cut into a 2-0 deficit. Senior Ray Sarmiento was the next to show his veteran moves, shrugging off deficits in both sets to charge on to victory on court two to equalize. That left all the action raging on the bottom three courts, where on Eric Johnson had played in an NCAA final match. Johnson got it done, winning in straight sets as well, on a tiebreaker on court five. Now up 3-1, the match came down to two Trojans new to the national title match. Senior Michael Grant kept up his gutsy efforts on court six as he charged toward the finish line there. He'd be trumped by sophomore de Vroome, who registered the clincher from court four in a three-set battle. Grant was all too happy to abandon his match, though, in order to join the celebration raging two courts away.
The USC men's tennis program has claimed a record 21 national championships in helping the university to this 100th all-time NCAA Championship. In all, USC has 122 national championships (22 titles have come in non-NCAA competitions). At the close of this year's tournament, the Trojans almost sweet the All-Tournament Team honors. Yannick Hanfmann was selected at No. 1 singles, along with Ray Sarmiento (No. 2 singles), Max de Vroome (No. 4 singles), Eric Johnson (No. 5 singles) and Michael Grant (No. 6 singles). Sarmiento also was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player. Head coach Peter Smith is now the men's tennis program's second winningest coach, holding five NCAA Championships to follow 10 won by George Toley.
Oklahoma was up to the task in doubles play, snagging the opening point with wins on courts two and three while the court one matchup was tangled up on serve. At the No. 3 spot, USC's Max de Vroome and Eric Johnson also were holding on serve against Oklahoma's Ghilea/Papac and wound up fighting the Sooners in a tiebreaker. The Oklahoma pair was able to move out to a lead in the breaker, though, capturing the first win of the day with an 8-7 (2) victory. At the No. 2 spot, USC's Connor Farren and Roberto Quiroz had pulled back on serve against Oklahoma's Alcorta/Harris, only to stumble back into a hole. The Sooners made the most of that change of momentum with a push to claim the doubles point on an 8-5 win over the Trojan pair. That left USC's #1 Yannick Hanfmann and Ray Sarmiento's matchup suspended on court one against Alvarez/Webb to bring up singles play.
Oklahoma's #41 Dane Smith unleashed an all-out attack against USC's #42 Roberto Quiroz on court two, taking the Sooners up 2-0 in the match with the decision. USC's Michael Grant provided a lift for USC at the same time, though, finally wrapping up his first set on court six to make it a fourth court with USC holding a first-set lead. For a time, Yannick Hanfmann and Eric Johnson were both serving for their respective matches on courts one and five. Johnson's opportunity slipped away, but Hanfmann pounced on his change to tack another point on the board. The #10 ranked junior upended #5 Guillermo Alcorta with another powerful performance. His 7-5, 6-2 win got USC its first point of the night, making it 2-1.
Right next-door to Hanfmann was his #9 senior teammate Ray Sarmiento, who had claimed his first set but then slipped behind 1-3 in the second, up against Oklahoma's #7 Axel Alvarez. He'd stubbornly keep coming. A late break of Alvarez pulled him within one, and the senior would hold next to level things at 5-5, and soon he was wrapped up in a tiebreaker. Sarmiento held his ground against Alvarez and equalized the match at 2-2 with his 6-4, 7-6 (4) decision. That put all eyes on the bottom courts, where all three matches were still raging on.
Johnson, it turned out, was far from shaken by his misfire in his second set. Given the opportunity to take the set to a tiebreaker, Johnson stuck to his guns and blasted his Trojans to a 3-2 lead with a strong 6-1, 7-6 (2) victory on court five. That heaped pressure on the remaining courts -- No. 4 and No. 6, where USC had two Trojans battling in their first-ever NCAA Championship matches. So, too, did Oklahoma have newcomers to the national stage, as the Sooners were in their first-ever NCAA title match. The Trojan newbies outgunned the Oklahoma newbies down the stretch. While senior Michael Grant was gutting out another three-set battle on court six, sophomore Max de Vroome was making winning moves on court four. Broken to come into a 4-4 tie in his third set, de Vroome answered back. He'd collect a break right back and then charge on to clean up USC's 100th NCAA Championship and 21st in the men's tennis world. It also capped USC's fifth NCAA Championship won in Athens, Ga. The Trojans also won titles in Georgia in 1991, 1993, 2010 and 2012 preceding this 2014 crown.
2014 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (Athens, Ga.)
CHAMPIONSHIP
[1] USC 4, [2] Oklahoma 2
May 20, 2014 - Dan Magill Tennis Complex • Athens, Ga.
DOUBLES
(1) #1 Hanfmann/Sarmiento (USC) vs. Alvarez/Webb (OU) - 5-6 susp.
(2) Alcorta/Harris (OU) def. Farren/Quiroz (USC) - 8-5
(3) Ghilea/Papac (OU) def. de Vroome/Johnson (USC) - 8-7 (2)
Oklahoma wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 3, 2
SINGLES
(1) #10 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) def. #5 Guillermo Alcorta (OU) - 7-5, 6-2
(2) #9 Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. #7 Axel Alvarez (OU) - 6-4, 7-6 (4)
(3) #41 Dane Webb (OU) def. #42 Roberto Quiroz (USC) - 6-1, 6-2
(4) #91 Max de Vroome (USC) def. #53 Andrew Harris (OU) - 4-6, 6-3, 6-4*
(5) Eric Johnson (USC) def. Austin Siegel (OU) - 6-1, 7-6 (2)
(6) Michael Grant (USC) vs. Alex Ghilea (OU) - 7-6 (5), 2-6, 4-2 susp.
Order of finish: 3, 1, 2, 5, 4*