Steve Johnson to defend his title


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While six of his teammates are playing on the other side of Los Angeles, junior Steve Johnson will showcase his skills across the country during the ITA/USTA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships.

Play starts today at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. — site of the US Open.

Locked in · Even though he is the defending champion, junior Steve Johnson qualified for nationals as a wildcard and earned the No. 7 seed. - Gary Fung | Daily Trojan

Johnson is the defending champion of the event, which has existed since 1978 and consists of a singles field of 32 of the best players in college tennis. Johnson will enter play today as the No. 7 seed after obtaining one of the two ITA Wildcard selections.

The tournament will take place at the new indoor facilities on site, but Johnson has some familiarity with the setting.

“I played at the US Open Qualifiers, so it’s a familiar place,” Johnson said. “Hopefully that helps me out this year.”

Even though Johnson has played at one of the iconic venues in all of tennis before, USC coach Peter Smith said it’s a special opportunity for collegians to play at Flushing Meadows.

Johnson will begin play against Georgia junior Wil Spencer, who is coming into the tournament with a seven-match winning streak.

Spencer spent his first two seasons at Texas A&M before transferring to Georgia.

At a tournament with so many quality players, Johnson said he does not pay much attention to any potential matchups later on in the tournament.

“I’ll have to go with the flow,” Johnson said. “You have to beat five really good players. I’ll take it one match at a time. Just like any other tournament, I have to be prepared and focused.”

As the individual season winds down, the Trojans have some positive results to take with them into the dual match season, but there is always room for improvement.

“It’s been going really well,” Johnson said of the team’s play so far. “The guys have done really well at Napa, NorCal [the Battle at the Bay] and at Regionals.”

Freshman Ray Sarmiento made his presence known by winning the singles portion at the Battle at the Bay and the doubles championship with sophomore JT Sundling.

Johnson defeated five top-40 players on his way to the consolation title at the ITA/D’Novo All-American Championships earlier this month.

Junior Daniel Nguyen made the final round and freshman Michael Grant won the consolation draw at the ITA Southwest Regionals.