
Steve Johnson looks to continue streak
Posted March 25, 2012 at 4:45 pm in Sports, Tennis
Before USC begins its stretch of Pac-12 play, the USC menâs tennis team will host one last nonconference opponent and hope to add yet another tally to their 38-match win streak.
The No. 1 Trojans (18-0) will take on No. 42 Boise State (16-5) today at 3 p.m. at Marks Stadium in USCâs effort to remain undefeated entering conference play, which begins Friday.
Streaking alongside his squad is No. 2 senior Steve Johnson, who remains undefeated in singles this year and has won 51 consecutive singles matches dating to last January.

Undefeated · Senior Steve Johnson and the No.1 Trojans are 18-0 on the season. Boise State will mark their last match before conference play. - Chris Roman | Daily Trojan
â[Johnson] is a great example for everyone. We reflect and talk about it all the time â how hungry he is and how motivated he is,â USC coach Peter Smith said. âA lot of that comes with confidence and heâs extremely confident right now.â
Fellow senior Daniel Nguyen, who is ranked No. 16 in singles, is also in a groove with nine straight singles wins.
Besides the two seniors, USC features four other ranked players in singles, including sophomores Ray Sarmiento and Emilio Gomez â ranked No. 24 and No. 41, respectively â and freshmen Yannick Hanfmann and Roberto Quiroz, ranked No. 30 and No. 121, respectively.
In doubles action, Johnson and Hanfmann comprise the No. 6 duo in the nation, but Smith has recently featured a new combination of Johnson and Quiroz, who have won four in a row together.
âIt was actually just an experiment at first, but itâs going pretty well,â Smith said. âWeâll have some very good options down the road.â
Nguyen and Sarmiento, however, have remained a constant pair and stand at No. 21 in the nation with a 17-4 record for the season.
With experience playing beside one another in the fall, Hanfmann and Gomez make up USCâs third pair and have gone 3-1 together in the dual match season.
USCâs 6-1 victory over No. 10 Florida last Monday marked the Trojansâ sixth win over a top-10 opponent.
Although the Trojans will face a weaker opponent in the Broncos, Smith insists there is no place for complacency on his team.
âIn anything, if you ever think youâve made it, youâre done,â Smith said. âYouâre always on a journey upwards. Every single guy has a lot of things to work on.â
Boise State, riding an eight-game win streak, features two ranked singles players in No. 48 James Meredith and No. 55 Damian Hume.
The match against the Broncos will be USCâs last home match before kicking off conference play with a four-match road trip.
âItâs always special playing at home, but weâre going to take it like another match and continue to build and improve,â Sarmiento said.
The Trojans claim that their longstanding win streak dating to last February speaks to their high standards as a tennis power seeking their fourth consecutive NCAA championship in May.
âWe won three [championships] in a row. This is nothing new to us,â Smith said. âThereâs an expectation level here that is unlike any other school in the country.â
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This article is tagged: boise state, Daniel Nguyen, Emilio Gomez, marks stadium, Men's tennis, pac-12, Peter Smith, ray sarmiento, Steve Johnson, USC Tennis







Thats not Steve he is not that good looking. Scary man wins again.
You should proofread your photos…as I’m sure you got a lot of people writing in that the picture isn’t Steve Johnson….I think that is eric johnson?