USC Men’s Tennis Scores 4-1 Semifinal Win Over Arizona To Reach Pac-12 Title Match

SAN DIEGO, CALIF. — The No. 13 USC men's tennis team is through to the Pac-12 Tournament final for the eighth time as the Trojans go on the hunt for a fifth title after beating Arizona 4-1 in today's semifinal bout Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, Calif. The win avenges an earlier loss to the Wildcats and sets USC up for tomorrow's 3 p.m. title match against Arizona State. Now 19-6 overall, the Trojans are looking to make it back-to-back Pac-12 crowns, having won it all in 2019 before the 2020 season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.

USC made its first move in doubles, again ringing up wins on courts one and two to tack up the first point of the match. Top guns Daniel Cukierman and Riley Smith scored a 6-3 win over Arizona's Hassey/Ziverts, and then Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye kept their 2021 slate clean with a 6-4 win over Wildcat tandem Malbasic/Reguant. 

Singles action saw #40 Daniel Cukierman dig up a speedy 6-1, 6-2 win over #26 Gustaf Strom to tug the Trojans ahead 2-0. Arizona answered back when Carlos Hassey edged out USC's Jake Sands 6-1, 7-6 on court six to make it 2-1, leaving three-setters going strong on the remaining courts. At the No. 3 spot, #82 Stefan Dostanic turned the tide on Filip Malbasic with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 comeback to get USC in position with a 3-1 lead. And coming through in the clutch with a three-set comeback of his own was USC's Bradley Frye, who upended Alejandro Reguant with a 5-7, 7-3, 6-4 decision that clinched the win for the Trojans.

No. 3 seeded USC will face an upset-minded No. 5 seed Arizona State in a 3 p.m. championship bout on Monday (April 26) at Barnes Tennis Center. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Network. 

PAC-12 SEMIFINALS
[3] USC 4, [2] Arizona 1
April 25, 2021 | Barnes Tennis Center (San Diego, Calif.)
DOUBLES
(1) #14 Cukierman/R. Smith (USC) def. Hassey/Ziverts (ARIZ) - 6-3
(2) Dostanic/Frye (USC) def. Malbasic/Reguant (ARIZ) - 6-4
(3) Jackson/Sands (USC) vs. Lagaev/Strom (ARIZ) - 4-3 susp.
Order of finish: 1, 2
USC wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #40 Daniel Cukierman (USC) def. #26 Gustaf Strom (ARIZ) - 6-1, 6-2
(2) #36 Riley Smith (USC) vs. #76 Jonas Ziverts (ARIZ) - 6-7, 6-2, 2-5 susp.
(3) #82 Stefan Dostanic (USC) def. Filip Malbasic (ARIZ) - 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
(4) Bradley Frye (USC) def. Alejandro Reguant (ARIZ) - 5-7, 6-3, 6-4*
(5) Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) vs. Herman Hoeyeraal (ARIZ) - 7-6, 4-6, 3-2 susp.
(6) Carlos Hassey (ARIZ) def. Jake Sands (USC) - 6-1, 7-6
Order of finish: 1, 6, 3, 4*