USC tennis finds itself in rarified air this year

The USC men’s and women’s tennis teams are both nationally ranked in the top-five in the latest polls released.

Cherish it, Trojans.

It is rare for a school to have a sport where both men’s and women’s teams are among the best in the country in a particular year.

The first reason for this? Well, there isn’t as much crossover in the sports as one might think; there is, for example, no opposite-sex equivalent for football or softball — baseball is far different.

But second, and perhaps most importantly, is that schools generally do not invest equal resources into their men’s and women’s programs. Generally, the best coaches aren’t available for hire because they are out of the athletic department’s price range.

This season, however, Peter Smith is leading a Trojan squad that is looking for its fourth-consecutive national championship. They sit atop the polls and figure to until they lose.

Richard Gallien, on the other hand, has led the Women of Troy to the No. 2 spot nationally, and has USC poised to win its first championship since 1985.

To put into perspective how rare it is to have a sport win both men’s and women’s titles in the same year, let’s look at some of the squads that have accomplished the feat.

2004 Connecticut basketball

The 2004 men’s team was led by guard Ben Gordon and forward/center Emeka Okafor. This team was dominant. They went 33-6 and Gordon and Okafor were the third and second picks in the 2004 draft, respectively. The women were led by forward Diana Taurasi and legendary coach Geno Auriema. They went 31-4 and defeated Tennessee in the national championship game by nine points.

1984 UCLA volleyball

Volleyball can sometimes go unnoticed, but the Bruins were tough to ignore in 1984. The men’s squad went undefeated, while the women went 33-6. The competition wasn’t even close.

2011 California swim and dive

Cal has been a dominant force in swim and dive the past few years. Coach Teri McKeever led the women to the top spot last season, while coach David Durden took the men to the top of the swimming world.

2010 USC water polo

Jovan Vavic is the coach of USC’s men’s and women’s teams, and the success the men have been known for has certainly been evident on the women’s side, too. The Trojans have won four titles in a row, and the women have been in the national championship game four of the last six seasons. The women are poised to win a title this year; we will have to wait and see how it ends up unfolding.

2003 Stanford cross-country

Cross-country falls under the radar as much as any sport does, as most fans do not line up to watch. Stanford, however, managed to establish dominance in 2003 despite a lack of public attention on them. Pretty impressive, considering the students at the schools likely didn’t know they had             cross-country teams.

There are probably others that I have missed, but the point is that if there are, there aren’t many.

It is uncommon for a men’s and women’s program from the same school to win a championship because, plain and simple, schools don’t always focus on the sexes equally. Tennessee basketball has dominated the women’s circuit, but the men’s team has yet to win a title.

North Carolina women’s soccer has won multiple titles, yet the men have just one.

Duke men’s basketball has dominated. The women? No titles. The fact is that it just doesn’t happen.

USC fans should be proud of where the men’s and women’s tennis teams stand this season. If both teams do end up at the top of the college rankings, we need to be proud. Proud that our teams have reached rarified air.

Though football is king here, it should not overshadow the accomplishment that USC might be close to earning. It has only happened a handful of times, and the fact that it could happen at USC is noteworthy.

 

“Goal Line Stand” runs Thursdays. If you would like to comment on this story, visit DailyTrojan.com or email Michael at [email protected]