Tennis wins singles and doubles crown in Thousand Oaks


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Junior Daniel Cukierman helped secure the men’s singles and doubles championship over the weekend. (Daily Trojan file photo)

A host of Trojans found success on the tennis courts last weekend in Thousand Oaks despite facing tough competition. The No. 3 ranked USC men’s team competed against the No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies, No. 11 UCLA Bruins and No. 12 Stanford Cardinal in the Sherwood Collegiate Cup. 

The seven Trojans participating in the tournament were No. 1 junior Daniel Cukierman, No. 9 sophomore Mor Bulis, No. 26 senior Riley Smith (only doubles), No. 37 freshman Stefan Dostanic, No. 64 freshman Ryder Jackson, No. 84 sophomore Jake Sands (only singles) and sophomore Bradley Frye. 

Cukierman won singles play by beating No. 18 sophomore Alexandre Rotsaert from Stanford in a tightly contested matchup 6-3, 4-6, 6-1. 

The junior also paired up with Smith to beat crosstown rival UCLA in a close match against No. 7 junior Keegan Smith and sophomore Govind Nanda. Cukierman and Smith won the match 7-5. 

The win marks the second tournament that the Cukierman and Smith duo has won this year, as the two Trojans won the Oracle Pro Series Tournament just over a week ago. 

Cukierman’s play, especially, garnered praise. 

“Daniel is just playing with a super high confidence level right now,” head coach Brett Masi said. “After a great fall [season], he is ranked No. 1 in the country … [It] gave him a big boost … And now coming back here and winning this first tournament to start off the spring … that’s a big boost going in the right direction.”

Masi claims Cukierman’s consistent attitude is a big reason for his success.

“He is going out there with a sense of urgency every match, where he wants to compete hard and win,” Masi said of Cukierman’s poise. “He is leaving his legacy right now.”

Bulis, Dostanic and Jackson also fared well at the tournament. Bulis easily beat No. 54 sophomore Sangeet Sridhar from Stanford in the Round of 16 6-3, 6-1. Dostanic reached the quarterfinal before losing to his teammate Cukierman 6-2, 2-6, 6-1. Lastly, Jackson and Bulis reached the semifinal before falling to UCLA’s duo of Smith and Nanda 6-3.

“We had a couple good wins by Mor Bulis … He beat a good player from Stanford,” Masi said. “I’m pretty happy with a lot of the guys on the team.” 

The Trojans will need to keep proving Masi’s confidence right as they look ahead toward a season in which they still have to face the No. 2 Texas Longhorns and No. 6 Ohio State Buckeyes, along with Pac-12 foes such as UCLA, Stanford and No. 14 California. 

“Take a look at our schedule, it is jam-packed,” Masi said. “Every match is loaded … [and] every match is going to be a big one.”

USC will participate in the ITA Kickoff Weekend in Los Angeles this weekend, beginning tournament play against UNC Wilmington Saturday.