Men’s tennis makes strides in tournament play

Men’s tennis wrapped up a competitive weekend at the Southern Intercollegiate Championship in Athens, Ga. The Trojans started the tournament Friday against Ohio State University, then played against University of Texas Saturday and University of Georgia Sunday. 

“Our guys did a good job,” said head coach Brett Masi in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Overall, we competed really hard and every day was different in regards to us growing, and that was one of our goals.” 

The Trojans earned three singles wins Friday against Ohio State as No. 68 junior Stefan Dostanic upset No. 20 graduate student Matej Vocel 7-6 (5), 6-4, freshman Peter Makk defeated sophomore JJ Tracy 6-1, 7-6 (4) and junior Ryder Jackson beat sophomore Lancelot Carnello 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. This is Dostanic’s second week in a row coming away with tournament victories. 

“Stefan is just really trying to come into his own in trying to solidify himself as a top player in the country,” Masi said. “I think he’s trying to take over for some players before him, like Brandon [Holt] and Daniel [Cukierman], … and try to make his mark and show he can compete at that level.”  

USC, however, did not manage any doubles wins on Friday as Ohio State junior Robert Cash and Vocel beat Dostanic and Makk 8-4. Junior Cannon Kingsley and JJ Tracy got the victory over the USC duo of senior Bradley Frye and sophomore Lodewijk Weststrate 8-7 (5), and junior Justin Boulais and Lancelot Carnello beat USC graduate students Paul Barretto and Jackson 8-4. USC finished with a 3-3 record in singles and an 0-3 record in doubles. 

The Trojans earned two singles wins against Texas on Saturday as Dostanic upset No. 58 junior Siem Woldeab 7-5, 7-5 and Barretto defeated junior Eshan Talluri 6-2, 6-2. The Trojans bounced back from their struggles in Friday’s doubles on Saturday, earning wins in all three of their doubles matches against Texas. Frye and Makk beat Woldeab and senior Cleeve Harper 8-6. Barretto and Dostanic beat sophomore Micah Braswell and junior Evin McDonald 8-4, and Jackson and junior Samuel Rubell defeated Talluri and senior Nevin Arimilli 8-5. USC finished its play against Texas with a 2-4 record in singles and a perfect 3-0 in doubles. 

“We said we [needed] to come out with a little bit more energy and fire [the next day],” Masi said. “We lost to Texas last year in two matches 4-3, they ended our season so there’s also a little more incentive when we go out there and play those guys.” 

On Sunday, the Trojans closed out the tournament with two wins in singles and one win in doubles against Georgia. Makk got an upset win for the Trojans defeating No. 23 graduate student Hamish Stewart 3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5 in three sets. 

“I think he just stayed level headed, stayed in the moment, and competed throughout the entire match,” Masi said. “He was changing his game plan when he needed to and made the necessary adjustments at the right time to get himself over the hump.”

Jackson beat junior Erik Grevelius 6-4, 6-2 getting USC its second singles win. In doubles, Barretto and Jackson beat Grevelius and senior Blake Croyder 8-6 to close out the tournament. USC finished its play Sunday against Georgia, going 2-3 in singles and 1-2 in doubles. 

The Trojans wrapped up the tournament with a 7-10 record in singles and a 4-5 record in doubles. 

“I think all the guys saw certain things they needed to improve on whether it’s mentally, physically or tactically … and we can get to work on some of those things,” Masi said. 

USC will travel to Tulsa, Okla. for the St. Francis Health System ITA Men’s All-American Championships beginning Friday.