THIS WEEK: The No. 12 Trojans have a quick trip to the Bay Area on tap this weekend. USC (16-5, 4-1 Pac-12) has a key conference matchup with No. 29 Stanford (6-3, 3-0) on the docket, as the Trojans and Cardinal are due to do battle at 1 p.m. on Saturday (April 10) at Stanford's Taube Tennis Center.

 

IN THE RANKINGS        

The Trojans opened 2021 ranked No. 1 in the nation —  the same spot it wrapped the shortened 2020 season. As of the latest set of Oracle/ITA National Team Computer Rankings (released April 7), USC is ranked at No. 15 in the nation. Also on April 7, the ITA released its Coaches Poll, which has USC at No. 12 in the nation. Oracle/ITA individual rankings were last released on March 30, with three Trojans ranked in singles - #26 Daniel Cukierman, #28 Riley Smith and #87 Stefan Dostanic. In doubles, USC has Cukierman/R. Smith looming large at #2 in the land.

 

SCOUTING STANFORD        

The No. 29 Cardinal enters the week with a 6-3 overall record and a 3-0 Pac-12 mark after beating ASU 4-3 and Arizona 6-1 last week. Stanford will face UCLA on Friday before playing USC. Stanford has #95 Arthur Fery ranked nationally in singles and no ranked doubles teams. In a series dating back to 1925, USC is 120-81 all-time against Stanford after the Trojans beat the Cardinal 7-0 last month in a nonconference clash at Marks Stadium. Last year, the teams met twice, with USC scoring a 6-1 nonconference win at Stanford and then posting a 4-0 win in the quarterfinals of the 2020 ITA National Team Indoor Championship.

 

LAST ACTION        

USC scored two Pac-12 wins at Marks Stadium last week, posting a 4-0 shutout of Washington before claiming a 5-2 win over No. 49 Oregon. Against the Huskies,  USC whipped up a swift win as a decisive doubles point was followed by a string of three straight-set singles victories, with Stefan Dostanic serving up the clincher. The next day, USC dug out of a doubles hole with a gutsy effort in singles. After scoring a couple straight-set wins to take the lead, the Trojans had to dig deeper for their remaining points, with the clincher coming from Riley Smith on court two. 

 

BY THE NUMBERS        

USC's winningest player to date is newcomer Lodewijk Weststrate, who has churned out 20 singles wins in his freshman campaign as a Trojan so far. Next in line with 14 singles wins apiece are Riley Smith and Bradley Frye with Stefan Dostanic close behind with 13. Frye also is on the hottest streak of the group, boasting a 10-match singles win streak. In doubles, USC's top pairs have gone a combined 22-2 in dual-match play. Top-ranked Daniel Cukierman and Riley Smith are currently 13-2 at the No. 1 spot on the year, while Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye boast a 9-0 mark to date on court two.

 

BEATING THE BRUINS    

In position for his first match-clinching victory of the year, junior Jake Sands showed no fear. Rather, he calmly claimed his crown as the hero of the day as he turned the tide for No. 9 USC from court six, closing out a three-set comeback to notch a 4-3 victory for the Trojans over crosstown rival No. 17 UCLA at Los Angeles Tennis Center. USC had led it 2-0 before the Bruins stole into the lead, leaving it up to Sands and freshman Lodewijk Weststrate to pull off three-set battles if the Trojans were to pull out the rivalry win. After USC claimed the double point, UCLA captured the first sets on all but one court in singles. At the No. 4 spot, USC's Bradley Frye sizzled his way to a 6-2, 6-3 win over UCLA's #109 Sam Feit to pin a  2-0 lead on the board for the Trojans. But USC still had a good amount of singles ground to make up in order to bring home a win with first-set deficits to overcome on the other five courts. That pressure cranked up further when UCLA captured straight-set wins on the top two courts to tie things up 2-2. At the No. 2 spot, Drew Baird beat USC's #19 Riley Smith 6-3, 6-4 just before #10 Keegan Smith topped USC's #1 Daniel Cukierman 6-2, 7-5 at the top spot. UCLA would capture a third straight singles win to go ahead 3-2 when Ben Goldberg pushed past USC's #26 Mor Bulis for a 7-6 (5), 6-2 decision on court three.That left two Trojans aiming for third sets to get USC a shot at victory. On court five, USC freshman Lodewijk Weststrate battled back against Roscoe Bellamy to force a third set there. And while Weststrate was charging through his third set, teammate Jake Sands forced a third of his own on court six to keep USC alive. Weststrate's full-court press in the third drew the Trojans back even with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-0 comeback effort to beat Bellamy. That left Sands starting up his third set against Patrick Zahraj in the No. 6 slot to decide things. With all eyes on his court, Sands didn't flinch. The junior rallied out ahead of Zahraj 5-2 in the third, surrendered one more game and then closed things down in Westwood with his 5-7, 7-5, 6-3 clincher for the Trojan cause. The win was USC's second over UCLA this season, following a 4-1 win over the Bruins during ITA Kickoff Weekend action last month.

 

STARTING ON TOP    

USC entered the new year with authority, boasting a sweep of the first ITA national rankings as the No. 1 team with the No. 1 singles player and No. 1 doubles pair. As the Trojans prepared to start up their 2021 campaign, USC head coach Brett Masi had his team at the top, while senior Daniel Cukierman stood tall as the nation's No. 1 singles player while also pairing up with returning senior Riley Smith for the No. 1 doubles rank. When 2020 competition was suspended back in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, USC was coming off a big victory at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The Trojans were No. 1 in the nation, and Cukierman was the No. 1 singles player. 

 

CUKIERMAN CATCHES CONFERENCE HONORS    

Senior Daniel Cukierman picked up the first weekly prize of the year from the Pac-12 in securing his third career selection as Pac-12 Player of the Week on Feb. 4. Cukierman was perfect in singles and doubles as the Trojans tallied two dual-match wins to improve to 3-0 on the year. Most notably, top-ranked Cukierman came through with a three-set comeback win in singles to beat UCLA's #10 Keegan Smith in the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match, clinching victory for the Trojans to punch up USC's 13th straight title at the event and ensuring USC would make a 13th straight trip to ITA National Team Indoor Championship. USC won the national title at that event last year. Also against the Bruins, Cukierman paired with fellow senior Riley Smith — together ranked as the No. 1 doubles team in the nation — for a win on court one before coming through with the singles clincher later. Later in the week, USC took on LMU and served up a sweep of the Lions thanks in part to wins from Cukierman in doubles and singles again. 

 

DOSTANIC DEBUTS ON PAC-12 HONOR ROLL

USC sophomore Stefan Dostanic snagged his first Pac-12 Player of the Week honors on February 23 after another smooth doubles win and a singles victory for the Trojans. He's the second USC player to win the award this season, joining Daniel Cukierman as an honoree. This week, Dostanic came up with the first doubles and singles wins of the day for the No. 8 Trojans in their 4-0 victory over visiting No. 14 Oklahoma State. Dostanic and doubles partner Bradley Frye stayed perfect in doubles action with their 6-2 win at the No. 2 spot to get USC off on a winning note against the Cowboys. Ranked No. 104 in the nation in singles, Dostanic later topped Oklahoma State's No. 86 Henrik Korsgaard in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 to make it a 2-0 Trojan lead en route to USC's sweep at Marks Stadium. Dostanic has lost just one doubles match and three singles matches this season.

 

FRYE'S FIRST PAC-12 PICK

Bradley Frye secured his first career award from the conference in his March 16 selection as the Pac-12  Player of the Week. He was the spark behind the Trojans' sweep in their Pac-12 opener against Utah, snagging the first doubles victory and the first singles win of the day for USC. Paired up with freshman Sean Holt, Frye stayed strong in the doubles realm as the pair whipped up a swift 6-1 win on court three to set USC up for success against the Utes. Playing at the No. 2 singles spot for just the second time in his Trojan career, Frye was all business and delivered a speedy 6-3, 6-3 win to take the Trojans to a 2-0 lead. The win was Frye's fifth consecutive singles victory, lifting him to 9-2 overall on the year in the singles realm.

 

LAST SEASON

The coronavirus pandemic put a stop to activities around the world, including all NCAA competition. When the 2020 season was suspended, the USC men's tennis team was standing tall as the top-ranked team in the nation for the fifth consecutive week — the Trojans' longest run at No. 1 since 2012. At 13-1 overall and recently crowned as the ITA National Indoor Champions, USC was looking like a solid frontrunner for the 2020 NCAA Championship under the direction of first-year head coach Brett Masi. Masi had taken over the reins of the Trojan tennis program in August 2019, leading a talented USC roster that featured a strong blend of veterans and youth. Senior All-Americans Brandon Holt and Riley Smith were joined by former team manager Rae Lan to round out USC's 2020 senior class. The savvy Daniel Cukierman stood tall as USC's lone junior on the roster, and he'd work his way to rank No. 1 in the nation in singles by the close of competition. USC's sophomore class featured Mor Bulis, Bradley Frye and Jake Sands, who were all coming off of solid first seasons as Trojans. Bulis shined particularly bright in the fall and cracked the top-10 singles rankings at No. 9 in the land at the same time that his fellow Israeli teammate Cukierman stepped to No. 1. USC's two newcomers were feisty freshmen Stefan Dostanic and Ryder Jackson. Both would show their mettle in the fall, and both became mainstays in the dual-match lineup that saw the Trojans take over the nation.