USC set for Oregon, Washington matches


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Group of men's tennis players before game.
Men’s tennis will go on its first Pac-12 away trip to the Pacific Northwest after managing a 3-1 record in its first four home matches. (Andrew Kerner | Daily Trojan)

After a pair of conference victories, men’s tennis will head to the Pacific Northwest for another weekend of Pac-12 competition. The team will hit the road this week heading north to take on Oregon and Washington.

Last weekend, USC rose to 3-1 in conference play with victories over Stanford and Cal, bumping them up to No. 13 in ITA’s most recent rankings. Junior Stefan Dostanic led the Trojans once again, going 2-0 in both singles and doubles play on the weekend. His victories included an upset over the nation’s second-best player, Stanford sophomore Arthur Fery.

Friday’s rubber match with Stanford saw another close finish for the Trojans as they squeaked by with a 4-3 victory. Dostanic and senior Bradley Frye led the team to the doubles point, taking down the No. 48 doubles pair of Fery and fifth-year Axel Geller. Freshman Ryan Colby sealed the deal in a thrilling two-tiebreaker match on court four to defeat Stanford senior Alexandre Rotsaert.

Saturday against Cal was more of the same, with Frye wrapping the match up at 4-2 in a thrilling three-set tiebreaker. The Trojans have struggled in both three-set matches and clinchers this season, and Head Coach Brett Masi said the wins were welcomed.

“It felt amazing,” Masi said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Not only did [Frye] win a three-set match, but he helped clinch a match for this team, and we’ve struggled with that.”

The trip north to face Oregon and Washington presents a new challenge for a group that hasn’t left Southern California in more than a month.

“You’re on the road — you’ve got to be on high alert,” Masi said. “You can’t have those slip-ups and hope to hold on.”

The Trojans’ first stop will be in Eugene to face Oregon Friday. The Ducks have a formidable opponent for USC’s pair of Dostanic and Frye with the No. 25 ranked doubles pair of junior Joshua Charlton and freshman Quinn Vandecasteele. Oregon comes into the match off of a week of rest following a 4-0 loss to Utah.

“[Oregon] went on the road and they lost in a tough environment, being at altitude in Utah. That’s not an easy place to play,” Masi said. “So we have to look at the reverse effect as, okay, this team might be a little bit down, if we can jump on top of them, maybe they’ll kind of go away, if you will.”

The team will then head to Seattle to face Washington Sunday. The Huskies currently have the same record as the Trojans at 13-5, but with seven clean-sweep victories. 

Washington will also provide a challenge for USC’s Dostanic with No. 4 ranked junior Clement Chidekh. The Trojans have relied on Dostanic’s singles performances throughout the season, which Masi said he hopes to change to claim victory over Washington.

“When you have a kid like [Dostanic] playing one, you feel pretty good about going out there and you have a point on the board, maybe sometimes starting the match against most teams,” Masi said. “We have to rely on someone other than [Dostanic] to come through for us as well, because there’s no guarantee, you’re playing the number four guy in the country.”

Masi said he hopes that the Trojans can put an end to their string of close finishes this weekend with confident and aggressive play.

“We can’t just be letting our foot off the gas and letting [opponents] back into matches,” Masi said. “Just come out and play an aggressive style.”

The Trojans will take on the Ducks at 1:30 p.m. Friday in Eugene, and will then face the Huskies in Seattle Sunday at noon.