Over the weekend, No. 20 USC men’s tennis journeyed up the coast to conclude its regular season, hoping to settle the score against two former Pac-12 foes before kicking off the Big Ten Tournament. 

The Trojans (18-6, 10-3 Big Ten) shut out the Washington Huskies (8-17, 2-11) in a fast-paced 4-0 win Friday, clinching their doubles point and never looking back. USC was able to channel that electric energy again Sunday with a 4-1 defeat of Oregon (14-10, 5-8).

Huskies couldn’t keep up

On Friday, USC was quick to clinch the doubles point, claiming two of the three matchups. After facing their first loss in 16 doubles matches against Northwestern on April 10, sophomore Andrin Casanova and graduate student Jack McCarthy brought the energy back, reinstating their success as the Trojans’ top doubles pair.

With a combination of aggressive net play and strategic use of open court, the pair commanded a 6-3 win over Washington’s sophomore Stephane Kamendje and senior Brett Pearson, earning USC’s first court win of the day. 

Despite a slow start, No. 2 doubles pair freshman Branko Djuric and sophomore Connor Church managed to come back and clinch the doubles point with a 6-4 edge over Husky sophomores Nikola Plavsic and Rohan Belday. Washington’s freshmen Hyeonseok Seo and Daniel Bien, however, bested USC freshmen Pablo Robledo Hoyos and Max Exsted in a tough 6-3 battle.

With the doubles point claimed, the Trojans continued to see success in singles. McCarthy’s easy 6-2, 6-0 victory over Seo set the tone for the rest of the matches. Church’s strong offensive play contributed to his similarly dominant 6-1, 6-0 score over Plavsic. No. 107 Djuric brought the Trojans home with his 6-1, 6-4 defeat over Kamendje on the top court. 

Bageling the Huskies 4-0 overall, the rest of the singles matches went unfinished — a merciful end for the remaining Huskies, as they all sat behind their Trojan counterparts: No. 67 Exsted’s 6-2, 3-3 lead over Belday ended early on No. 2 singles, as did Casanova’s 6-1, 4-3 edge over Pearson and USC sophomore Niels Hoffmann’s hard-fought 7-5, 3-3 fight over Bien.

Trojans best the Ducks

With a win from the weekend already under their belt, the Trojans looked to duplicate that energy in Eugene, Oregon, two days later. 

Church and Hoyos brought the heat at the beginning of the No. 3 doubles set but were unable to hold down the fort, taking a 6-2 defeat at the hands of freshmen Cameron Burton and Sam Olszakowski. However, No. 2 doubles Exsted and Djuric answered with a 6-3 claim over Oregon seniors Pierre Mouesca and Lachlan Robertson, tying the overall doubles scoreboard to 1-1.

All eyes were on No. 1 doubles for the deciding point, but Casanova and McCarthy couldn’t find their groove, falling in a 6-1 defeat to freshman Declan Galligan and senior Vlad Breazu. 

Oregon’s mark was on the board; little did the Ducks know it would be their last. The Trojans flipped their trajectory, repeating their singles success from Friday. Church once again silenced his weekend opponent 6-2, 6-0, with Galligan up this time on the chopping block. After a slow start in his doubles play, Casanova responded with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Olszakowski on No. 3 singles, taking the lead 2-1 for USC overall. 

With a similar winning sentiment to Casonova in mind, McCarthy bested Robertson 6-3, 6-4. For the second time in as many matches, it was No. 1 singles Djuric’s strategic gameplay and fast down-the-line shots that secured the 4-1 victory for USC after his electric 6-3, 7-5 performance over Breazu. 

Exsted’s 7-6 (7-2), 3-2 matchup versus Mouesca and Burton’s 7-5, 5-2 faceoff against USC’s Hoffmann went unfinished after the Trojans’ comeback to conclude the regular season. 

With their attention turning to the Big Ten Tournament, the Trojans will face crosstown foe No. 21 UCLA (16-6, 10-3) in the quarterfinals to kick off the tournament on Thursday at noon at Libbey Park in Ojai.