USC’s Daniel Cukierman Named Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year With Riley Smith

For the 11th time in program history, USC men's tennis has landed a Trojan on the top of the conference honor roll, with Daniel Cukierman named Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year. And for the fifth time in Trojan history, USC double-dips with top honors as Cukierman is joined by Riley Smith as the Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year. Cukierman and Smith top off a complete lineup of Trojans on the All-Pac-12 list, with  the respective First and Second Team accolades combining forces with four Trojans — — earning All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention.

Senior Daniel Cukierman held No. 1 rankings in both singles and doubles during this 2021 campaign, helping to secure his sweep of the Pac-12 Singles Player and Doubles Team awards. In picking up both honors, Cukierman follows  in the footsteps of three other notable Trojans to have done the same: Robert Farah (2009 & 2010), Steve Johnson (2012) and Yannick Hanfmann (2014). And with his All-Pac-12 First Team, Cukierman wraps his USC career with back-to-back First Team picks along with Second Team honors in his freshman season. No Pac-12 awards were issued in 2020 as a result of the midseason cancellation of competition due to the coronavirus pandemic. Cukierman will compete in the NCAA Singles draw for the second time

The power pairing of Cukierman and Riley Smith has been near-perfect in 2021. USC's winningest doubles pair, Cukierman and Smith have been an anchor in the lineup for USC as they have reached the NCAA Tournament for the 14th consecutive season. They were the nation's top-ranked team during 2021and have earned themselves a place in the coming NCAA Doubles draw with their impressive resume and current No. 10 national ranking. They are the first USC duo to earn Doubles Team of the Year since Yannick Hanfmann  and Roberto Quiroz earned that status in 2015.

For super senior Riley Smith, his return for a fifth season at Troy has been particularly profitable. Along his way to his first journey to the NCAA Singles draw, Smith has earned his highest career singles ranking at No. 14 this season, and his All-Pac-12 Second Team selection is the first such postseason honor of the captain's career.

USC's four-Trojan contingent on the All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention list are also all first-time all-conference honorees. Respectively comprising USC's Nos. 3-6 singles slots in the current lineup, Stefan Dostanic, Bradley Frye, Lodewijk Weststrate and Jake Sands have helped propel USC from the Pac-12 Tournament Championship and on to USC's current deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Dostanic and Frye also have  paired up to great success in doubles, boasting a 16-1 record together as the Trojans enter today's NCAA Quarterfinals.

At the time of this release, USC's All-Pac-12 six-pack is engaged in NCAA action in Orlando. The Trojans are taking on Texas with a 5:30 p.m. ET start in the NCAA Quarterfinals. The match is being televised on Tennis Channel, with live scoring available here: http://scores.tennisticker.de/usa/ustanc/conf/lp.html?lid=82

2021 PAC-12 AWARDS
Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year
Daniel Cukierman

Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year
Daniel Cukierman & Riley Smith

All-Pac-12 First Team
Daniel Cukierman

All-Pac-12 Second Team
Riley Smith

All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention
Stefan Dostanic
Bradley Frye
Jake Sands
Lodewijk Weststrate