No. 8 men’s tennis looks to defend Pac-12 crown


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The No. 8 USC men’s tennis team will play in the Pac-12 championships over the weekend looking to defend its title.

The Trojans will aim to repeat last year’s success and secure a berth in the NCAA Championships that will take place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the end of May. Since the format was changed in 2012, the Trojans have been crowned conference champions twice, taking the first title and winning it all last year.

The Trojans finished the regular season with a 4-2 home loss to No. 4 UCLA. Overall they went 15-5 in the season, with a 5-2 conference record. They were awarded the second seed in the draw, earning them a spot in the semifinals.

They will face the winner of the match between No. 3 Cal and either No. 6 Washington or No. 7 Utah. The action began on Wednesday but the Trojans are not scheduled to play until Friday.

With a win, the Trojans are likely to face No. 1 UCLA for the conference title on Saturday.

The Trojans are led by Max de Vroome, the lone senior in the team. De Vroome is currently ranked at No. 23 and is on an eight-match winning streak at first singles. Junior Nick Crystal sits at No. 43 and has a 8-2 record at second singles. Freshman Logan Smith is ranked at No. 55 in the country and fellow freshman Jake DeVine is ranked at No. 106 and on a three-match win streak. Sophomore Thibault Forget is ranked at No. 120 and is tied with de Vroome for the team lead in wins with 28.

In doubles, USC’s top pair consists of Crystal and freshman Laurens Verboven, currently ranked at No. 42 in the nation. They lead the team with 11 wins in doubles. The second doubles pair is composed of de Vroome and freshman Jack Jaede. They are 6-4 in the second spot and have achieved nine wins together in the season.

The match will start at 1 p.m. on Friday at Libbey Park.