38-match winning streak remains intact

By Jeremy Chen · Daily Trojan

Posted March 19, 2012 at 11:58 pm in Sports, Tennis

Despite some stiff competition, USC men’s tennis continues to build on its undefeated season and its long-standing win streak.

The No. 1 Trojans (18-0) took on their sixth top-10 opponent in No. 10 Florida (9-6) and extended their win streak to 38 dual matches with a 6-1 win over the Gators Monday at Marks Tennis Stadium.

Leading the way was No. 2 senior Steve Johnson, who tallied his 51st straight singles victory and USC’s first singles point with a 6-1, 6-2 win over No. 61 Bob van Overbeek.

Serving it up · Despite a singles loss by sophomore Emilio Gomez, the Trojans were able to extend their winning streak to 38 matches. - Chris Roman | Daily Trojan

“I’m playing some of my best tennis right now,” Johnson said. “I feel like there’s another level I can get to, mentally and physically, and that’s what I keep striving for.”

After Johnson’s win, freshman Roberto Quiroz pushed the Trojans’ lead to 3-0 by ousting Billy Federhofer 6-2, 6-3.

Fellow freshman Yannick Hanfmann, ranked No. 30 in singles, then clinched USC’s victory by defeating Florent Diep 7-5, 6-2. The return home helped Hanfmann bounce back from his three-set singles loss to Texas A&M’s John Lewis March 1.

“It’s always different at a home match,” Hanfmann said. “We’re all fired up to play at home.”

A loss from No. 41 sophomore Emilio Gomez to No. 93 Spencer Newman gave the Gators their only point for the match. Afterward, three-set wins from No. 16 senior Daniel Nguyen and No. 24 sophomore Ray Sarmiento rounded out USC’s 6-1 victory.

Before singles action, USC had jumped out to an early 1-0 advantage with a sweep in doubles play.

The three doubles pairs from Florida were all nationally ranked, but the Trojans swept the field, beginning with Johnson and Quiroz’s 8-1 win over the No. 8 pair Federhofer and Nassim Slilam.

Gomez and Hanfmann followed with an 8-3 victory over No. 74 van Overbeek and Andrew Butz to clinch the doubles point for USC and improve their record together to 10-1.

Nguyen and Sarmiento, ranked No. 21 in the nation, finished the doubles sweep by taking out No. 26 Newman and Tripper Carleton 8-2.

Though the Trojans have normally featured the No. 6 doubles pair in Hanfmann and Johnson along with Gomez and Quiroz, the team has recently played other combinations to give freshmen Hanfmann and Quiroz more experience.

“Steve’s our captain, and we’ll have to learn from him,” Quiroz said. “He’s such a good player. I’m trying to learn every match.”

Quiroz’s new partner shares similar confidence about the pairing.

“[Roberto] is a very accomplished doubles player,” Johnson said. “We’ve really gotten together and played well.”

The Trojans improved to 4-2 all-time against the Gators and added one more win to their 38-match streak that dates back to last February.

USC is now 4-0 in March after a 7-0 sweep against No. 50 Virginia Tech on March 9 and two road victories against No. 13 Texas and No. 20 Texas A&M last week.

The Trojans will host No. 38 Boise State (13-5) next Monday at Marks Tennis Stadium in USC’s final match before conference play.

One Comment on “38-match winning streak remains intact”

  1. trojanelli

    Great job Trojan tennis team. These guys really ROCK!!! Come out & see them play. I have seen football players at the home games and the level of play is high.
    This is one of the all time greatest Tennis Teams. They are strong top to bottom.
    Do yourself a favor and take a peek at Marx Stadium next Monday. U will B glad U did.
    Coach Smith has assembled an amazing team.
    Fight On & On!!!!

More News

  Daily Trojan Spring Awakening Supplement

Blogs

Daily Trojan Poll

Which headliner did you enjoy most at Springfest?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...

Archives

March 2012
S M T W T F S
« Feb   Apr »
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031

Browse Archives

News

Dr. Dre, Iovine give $70 mil for new academy

A new type of undergraduate experience will be added to the university as music icons Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre are together giving $70 million ...

UPDATE: LAPD, DPS hold open forum for students

Video from the scene, courtesy of USC Black Student Assembly.   Students, alumni, faculty and community members voiced their concerns at an emotional open forum between the ...

Students hold sit-in in response to LAPD presence at party

[gallery link="file" ids="67092,67091,67090,67089,67088,67087,67086,67085,67084"] Photos by Razan Al Marzouqi   More than 100 students gathered in front of Tommy Trojan for a sit-in Monday afternoon in response to events ...

Opinion

Syrian conflict explodes

On May 16, President Barack Obama told the public about evidence that shows chemical weapons being used in the ongoing Syrian crisis, according to BBC ...

Extra-curriculars, internships as important as grades

As summertime rolls around and the sun and ocean begin to beckon eager pupils, one last roadblock stands in the way of true vacation bliss: ...

’SC sets example in lowering dropout rate

A report sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation reveals that the nation’s higher education system is facing a dropout crisis. Produced in part ...

Sports

Women of Troy fall in the round of 16

With a 15-match winning streak against the Cardinal and after bouncing the team from the NCAA quarterfinals last season, the No. 5 USC women’s tennis ...

Trojans can’t pull off unprecedented ‘5-peat’

An outstanding four-year championship run ended for the USC men’s tennis program on Saturday, May 18, in Urbana, Ill., as the No. 4 Trojans were ...

USC suffers sweep to rival UCLA

When USC and UCLA took the field this weekend for their annual three-game clash, it was hard to envision two more different teams and programs. ...

Lifestyle

Daft Punk transcends genre in RAM

After eight long years, the eccentric French electronic music duo Daft Punk is re-entering the electronic music fray. Their new album, Random Access Memories, was ...

Midnight builds on strengths of preceding films

Movie trilogies have a bit of a reputation for being films that rely heavily on action and excitement. They’re usually big money earners, which is ...

An Exercise in Authenticity

Though Generation Um
includes a star studded cast—Keanu Reeves, Bojana Novakovic, and Adelaide Clemens—this film surprisingly has more of an indie vibe.  Set in New York ...

Photos

In Photos: Washington comes to USC

In Photos: Washington comes to USC

The Schwarzenegger Institute held an immigration reform forum titled "Washington comes to USC", with U.S Senators John McCain, Michael Bennet and former President of Mexico ...

In Photos: Armenian Genocide

Photos by Ani Kolangian [gallery link="file" ids="66554,66555,66556,66557,66558,66559,66560,66561,66562"]

In Photos: Springfest 2013

Photos by Priyanka Patel. [gallery link="file" ids="65587,65586,65585,65584,65583,65582,65581,65580,65579,65578,65577,65576"]