Men’s and women’s tennis compete in weekend tournament

Over the weekend, the men’s tennis team found success at Pepperdine during the ITA Southwest Regionals tournament, which ended with two Trojans going head-to-head in the singles finals.

All eight men had a first round bye and won their second round matches with the exception of senior Jack Jaede. The third round provided an interesting matchup as redshirt senior Tanner Smith faced off against his younger cousin and No. 1 seed, UCLA’s Keegan Smith. With an emphatic 6-1, 6-3 win, Tanner Smith booked his spot in the next round. Junior Riley Smith and freshman Bradley Frye lost in the same round.   

The fourth round saw all five Trojans advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday. Tanner Smith squared off against teammate Jaede and came out with the 6-4, 7-6(4) win. Joining Tanner Smith in the semifinals was Logan Smith. Jake Sands and Daniel Cuckierman both fell in straight sets.

In the semifinals Sunday, Tanner Smith won 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Logan Smith was also victorious with a 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win. The unseeded Tanner Smith and No. 6 Logan Smith faced off in the finals on Monday at Marks Stadium. Logan Smith claimed the title over his teammate in three sets.

All four of USC’s double teams did not have to play until the round of 32, as they entered the tournament with a bye. In this round, the men’s doubles teams had a perfect showing, going 4-0 on the day. Among these wins, the No. 40 team of  Cukierman and Tanner Smith had the most dominant performance, defeating Loyola Marymount’s junior Ryan Brown and sophomore Diego Nava 8-2.

The semifinals on Monday became  a tie-breaking affair, where the team of freshman August Holmgreen and junior Joel Gamerov prevailed over Brandon Holt and Smith by the score of 3-6, 6-3, (12-10).

The Women of Troy also played their regional tournament in San Diego.

All seven advanced to the second round, where five of the seven Trojans fell. Freshmen Danielle Willson and Salma Ewing advanced into the third round and both won their next matches 6-1, 6-0 and 6-2, 6-3, respectively. The fourth round proved to be the end of Willson’s singles campaign as she lost 6-2, 6-2. Ewing beat UCLA senior Alaina Miller to reach the quarterfinals.

Monday saw Ewing play in the finals, where she dropped the first set 6-3. It was the first time she had lost a set the entire tournament. She went on to win the next two sets 6-2, 6-2 and claim her first collegiate singles title.

The women’s doubles teams put up a strong showing as well, with two pairs of teams reaching the quarterfinals. These teams included the No. 27 ranked doubles team of junior Angela Kulikov and senior Rianna Valdes and the doubles team of junior Constance Branstine and junior Becca Weissmann. The team had one other doubles team compete in the tournament that consisted of Ewing and Willson.

The men’s team will compete in their next tournament this weekend in the Southern California Intercollegiate Championships on the home court. The women’s team plays its next tournament starting Nov. 2 at the Jack Kramer Invitational in Rolling Hills.