Trojans leave Ojai with four Pac-10 titles

The No. 5 USC men’s tennis team built upon its regular season Pac-10 title by capturing the Pac-10 championship team title along with three individual championships last weekend in Ojai, Calif.

Senior Robert Farah led the way by capturing both the Pac-10 singles championship and Pac-10 doubles championship with partner sophomore Steve Johnson.

Farah followed in the footsteps of former doubles partner Kaes Van’t Hof, who won both the singles and doubles titles in 2008.

“It’s a great achievement,” Farah said. “I was working for that; it was the ultimate goal. It feels awesome to do whatever Kaes did, and now I feel ready to play in the NCAAs.”

In the doubles bracket, top-seeded Farah and Johnson triumphed over fourth-seeded Amit Inbar and Nick Meister of UCLA in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (4).

The win helped Johnson overcome a personal barrier in the tournament and extended his winning streak when paired with Farah to 12.

“Definitely enjoyable,” Johnson said. “I have lost twice in the final before. It feels good to finally get a win at Ojai.”

Earlier in the day, top-seeded Farah defeated second-seeded Stanford Bradley Klahn 6-2, 7-6 (5) to capture the singles crown — his third singles victory over Klahn this season.

As the top seed in the invitational bracket, Sundling stuck to the script and won 7-5, 7-6 over UCLA’s Alex Brigham.

Sundling became the second straight Trojan to take the invitational singles crown after sophomore Daniel Nguyen achieved the feat last year.

The top seeds were not the only Trojans to play well throughout the weekend.

Four singles players and three doubles teams participated in respective championship brackets as well as four singles and two doubles inclusions in the invitational bracket.

Apart from the champions, Nguyen and junior Peter Lucassen performed impressively in the competition’s top flight.

“Nguyen was a couple of points away from a big win,” USC coach Peter Smith said of Nguyen’s three-set loss to Klahn in the semifinals.

Lucassen dominated his two matches during the first day of play, including a win 6-1, 6-1 over sixth-seeded junior Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan of Washington.

“Peter did have a good day, and this tournament is perfect for someone like Peter where he can get a little more comfortable of the tennis court and gain some confidence,” Smith said.

In his following match, Lucassen fell short to Klahn but had the opportunity to build positive momentum following a tough stretch toward the end of the season.

In another positive development, sophomore Matt Kecki returned to the courts for the first time since March 3, but he fell short 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 to Martin Kildahl of Washington.

“Good to see Kecki back on the courts,” Smith said. “He had some flashes of great tennis but wasn’t fit enough to finish the match.”

USC players said they are using this tournament as a building block for the upcoming NCAA championships and beyond.

“I’m taking the tournament seriously this year,” Farah said. “Not that I did not take it seriously the last couple of years, but since I will be turning pro in June, these are the tournaments where I need to measure myself against the competition.”

Planning for this tournament often relies on a delicate balance between resting players and having others participate to make sure the team is in top shape when the NCAA championships commence in mid-May.

Johnson, junior Jaak Poldma, and senior Jason McNaughton took a break from singles play last weekend, but other regular contributors gained confidence in hopes of another championship run.

“A couple of players were able to build momentum for the NCAAs,” Smith said. “That’s what we’re here for.”