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NCAA men's team tennis tournament: Three Pac-12 teams on to Round of 16

by Adam Butler
May 11, 2014
UCLA Athletics

Three Pac-12 men's teams took to action on Sunday with their eyes on Athens, Ga., and the Round of 16. USC and UCLA played at their respective friendly confines at home while Cal was deep in the heart of Texas. 

The Trojans took another step toward winning their fifth title in six years, defeating Oklahoma State 4-1 on Sunday. The win sets up a Round of 16 match against No. 16 Columbia on Friday in Athen, Ga., where the University of Georgia is hosting the remainder of the tournament. While the Trojans did give up one point to the Cowboys, they find themselves in a great position to earn yet another team title. After all, they have so many well-regarded pieces. The nation’s top-ranked doubles team, Yannick Hanfmann and Ray Sarmiento, set the tone for the nation’s top-ranked team, winning their doubles match 8-5. Hanfmann would later win his singles match, 6-1, 6-3, and the Trojans could then punch their ticket to Georgia. Maybe USC is just getting warmed up?

Also advancing to the third round are the UCLA Bruins. They defeated the University of San Diego to advance to Athens, where they'll face Tennessee on Friday. The Bruins are looking to win one more match than they did last season when they lost the national championship to Virginia. It was the school’s 14th runner-up finish. As for their match with San Diego, UCLA won 4-0 and dropped only a single set throughout the competition. The Bruins have yet to yield a point in the tournament and while Tennessee will be a tough out, they are playing the role of Cinderella: The Vols upset No. 11 Duke to advance. Whatever the case, it’s all just a part of the road:

The Pac-12 team perhaps not expected to advance on Sunday (per the assumptions we can make based on seeding) was the Golden Bears. They were playing away from home against the tournament’s eight seed, Texas A&M. The match was tied at 3 before Campbell Johnson secured the final point with a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 win. It was the Aggies’ first home loss of the season. The Bears are set to face No. 9 Texas in Georgia on Friday morning for their opportunity to advance. The Longhorns will be Cal’s third consecutive opponent from the state of Texas (Texas Tech, Texas A&M).

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