Men's Tennis | September 23, 2018

Undeterred by a first-set deficit, USC senior Laurens Verboven stood his ground and then made moves in Malibu in hammering out a three-set comeback win to claim the singles championship at the Oracle ITA Masters. Verboven's winning efforts were streamed live on ESPN3 and will be rebroadcast on ESPNU on Monday and Tuesday this week.

In the title match against No. 32 Nicolas Moreno de Alboran of UC Santa Barbara, the No. 81-ranked Verboven got up early on his Gaucho foe before Moreno de Alboran closed the gap and wound up winning the first set in a tiebreaker. The seventh and six seeds, respectively, in the singles draw, Moreno de Alboran and Verboven went toe-to-toe again in the second set, with Verboven on his game in the breaker for a 7-4 advantage that brought up the decisive third set. There, Verboven worked some padding into the score with a key break, and the Trojan would stay the course to victory, finishing off his first title of his senior season with a 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory.

The win makes Verboven the second consecutive Trojan to claim the Oracle ITA Masters singles title, following in the steps of teammate Brandon Holt, who was in action at the Battle in the Bay this weekend. 

In semifinal action in San Francisco, Holt was upended in singles with a 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 decision in favor of TCU's No. 10-ranked Alex Rybakov. That match wrapped Holt's run at the Battle in the Bay, as he and partner Tanner Smith took an 8-4 loss to eventual doubles champions Loeb/Zielinski of Wake Forest in the morning's semifinals. Smith, meanwhile, would stay on course in consolation singles play, rebounding from his first-round loss in the main draw and racking up four consecutive wins to claim the consolation title with today's 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7) comeback win over Michigan's Andrew Fenty. 


All USC results and schedule at this week's three events are listed below.

ORACLE ITA MASTERS (Malibu, Calif.) 

SINGLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 20
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. Hedrik Inno (Belmont) - 6-2, 6-3
[2] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. Alvaro Verdu (Marquette) - 6-1, 6-1

Round of 16 - Sept. 21
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. #56 Guanarteme Nuez (UT Arlington) - 6-3, 6-2
[2] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #45 Stefan Milicevic (Minnesota) - 6-1, 6-4

Quarterfinals - Sept. 21
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. Matt Kuhar (BRY) - 6-3, 6-3
[7] #32 Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (UCSB) def. [2] #31 Daniel Cukierman (USC) - 6-4, 4-6, 6-4

Semifinals - Sept. 22
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. [8] #12 Mitch Harper (VaTech) - 7-5, 1-6, 6-2

Championship - Sept. 23
[6] #81 Laurens Verboven (USC) def. [7] #32 Nicolas Moreno de Alboran (UCSB) - 6-7 (4), 7-6 (4), 6-3

MIXED DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 20
[3] Daniel Cukierman (USC) / Salma Ewing (USC) def. Evans (UIW)/Golanova (Illinois State) - 6-4
[2] Laurens Verboven (USC) / Bolton (UCLA) def. Efrim/Szentes (Alabama State) - 6-4

Round of 16 - Sept. 20
Sigsgaard (TEX)/Oosterhout (HAR) def. [3] Daniel Cukierman (USC) / Salma Ewing (USC) - 6-4
Oetzbach/Levashova (PEP) def. [2] Laurens Verboven (USC) / Elysia Bolton (UCLA) - 6-4

BATTLE IN THE BAY (San Francisco, Calif.)

SINGLES
First Round - Sept. 21
Tanner Smith (USC) - bye
Jake Sands (USC) - bye
Bradley Frye (USC) - bye
[2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) - bye

Round of 32 - Sept. 21
#38 Emil Reinberg (UGA) def. Tanner Smith (USC) - 4-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-4)
Jake Sands (USC) def. Morgan Dill (WFU) - 6-3, 6-2
Bradley Frye (USC) def. #91 Bar Botzer (WFU) - 6-3, 6-3
[2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) def. Cagatay Soke (FREST) - 6-1, 6-3

Round of 16 - Sept. 22
[4] #22 Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Jake Sands (USC) - 6-3, 7-5
[3] #10 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. Bradley Frye (USC) - 7-5, 6-1
[2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) def. Timothy Sah (STAN) - 6-1, 6-3

Quarterfinals - Sept. 22
[2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) def. #64 Parker Wynn (TT) - 6-2, 7-6

Semifinals - Sept. 23
[3] #10 Alex Rybakov (TCU) def. [2] #4 Brandon Holt (USC) - 3-6, 7-5, 6-3

CONSOLATION SINGLES
Round of 16 - Sept. 22
Tanner Smith (USC) def. Blaz Seric (UH) - 7-6 (4), 7-5

Quarterfinals - Sept. 22
Tanner Smith (USC) def. Bertus Kruger (TCU) - 6-4, 6-4

Semifinals - Sept. 23
Tanner Smith (USC) def. Sander Jong (TCU) - 6-1, 6-2

Championship - Sept. 23
Tanner Smith (USC) def. Andrew Fenty (MICH) - 5-7, 6-2, 1-0 (10-7)

EXTRA MATCHES
Sept. 23
Jake Sands (USC) def. Paul Giraud (USF) - 6-2, 6-4
Blaz Seric (UH) def. Bradley Frye (USC) - 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (10-7)

DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 21
Bradley Frye / Jake Sands (USC) def. Draper/Molloy (CAL) - 8-5
[2] Brandon Holt / Tanner Smith (USC) - bye

Round of 16 - Sept. 22
Markes/Scott (TEX) def. Bradley Frye / Jake Sands (USC) - 8-6
[2] Brandon Holt / Tanner Smith (USC) def. Ilagan/Seric (UH) - 8-5

Quarterfinals - Sept. 22
[2] Brandon Holt / Tanner Smith (USC) def. Dill/Gadjiev (WFU) - 8-5

Semifinals - Sept. 23
Loeb/Zielinski (WFU) def. [2] Brandon Holt / Tanner Smith (USC) - 8-4

MILWAUKEE TENNIS CLASSIC (Milwaukee, Wisc.) 

SINGLES
First Round - Sept. 20
[1] #104 Logan Smith (USC) - bye
[10] Jake DeVine (USC) def. Jesse Sprinkle (Minnesota) - 6-2, 6-3

Round of 32 - Sept. 21
[1] #104 Logan Smith (USC) def. Gui Gomes (Illinois) - 6-3, 6-4
[10] Jake DeVine (USC) def. Robert Krill (Wisconsin) - 6-3, 6-4

Round of 16 - Sept. 21
Patrick Kaukovalta (Alabama) def. [1] #104 Logan Smith (USC) - 6-2, 7-5
[10] Jake DeVine (USC) def. Edson Ortiz (Alabama) - 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (2)

Quarterfinals - Sept. 22
Henrik Korsgaard (VaTech) def. [10] Jake DeVine (USC) - 6-4, 6-2

DOUBLES
Round of 32 - Sept. 21
[1] Jake DeVine / Logan Smith (USC) - bye

Round of 16 - Sept. 22
Barretto/Kaya (Cal) def. [1] Jake DeVine / Logan Smith (USC) - 6-2