No. 15 USC Men’s Tennis Wraps Regular Season With Seventh Straight Win
SALT LAKE CITY — The No. 15 USC men's tennis team secured some momentum for the postseason in snagging its seventh straight win on a 4-1 decision over host Utah today in Salt Lake City. The Utes didn't make it easy in forcing third sets on three courts, but sophomore Samuel Rubell was undeterred and secured his first clinching win as a Trojan with his 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 victory on court six. USC improves to 18-2 overall and wraps Pac-12 play at 7-1 with the conference road victory.
In a swift move, USC claimed the doubles point with 6-4 wins on courts one and two. Peter Makk and Lodewijk Weststrate hit the finish line first with their victory over Bastias/Caula, and then #12 Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye dispatched #33 Capalbo/Espin at the top spot.
USC would go up 2-0 when #4 Stefan Dostanic's opponent, Franco Capalbo, retired from their court one match with Dostanic up 6-2, 1-0. Trojans had won the first sets on five courts, but Utah was making some noise in second sets, forcing third sets on three courts. On court five, #99 Lodewijk Weststrate collected his fourth straight win and made it 3-0 Trojans with a 6-3, 7-6 (5) victory over Mathias Gavelin. The hosts got on the board when Francisco Bastias upended Bradley Frye with a 3-6, 6-0, 6-3 comeback decision that got the score to 3-1. USC had a speedy reply, though, with Samuel Rubell coming through in the clutch for the clincher as he beat Bruno Krenn 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 to net the 4-1 win for the Trojans.
With its regular-season action wrapped, USC now awaits the results of remaining Pac-12 matches to determine its seeding for the coming Pac-12 Tournament. USC currently sits as the No. 2 seed behind Arizona, which has one more match to play. The 2022 Pac-12 Tournament will run April 20-23 in Ojai, Calif.
#15 USC 4, Utah 1
April 15, 2022 | George C. Eccles Tennis Center (Salt Lake City, Utah)
DOUBLES
(1) #12 Dostanic/Frye (USC) def. #33 Capalbo/Espin (UTAH) - 6-4
(2) Makk/Weststrate (USC) def. Bastias/Caula (UTAH) - 6-4
(3) Barretto/Rubell (USC) vs. Blando/Gavelin (UTAH) - 4-5 susp.
Order of finish: 2, 1
USC wins doubles point.
SINGLES
(1) #4 Stefan Dostanic (USC) def. Franco Capalbo (UTAH) - 6-2, 1-0 ret.
(2) Francisco Bastias (UTAH) def. Bradley Frye (USC) - 3-6, 6-0, 6-3
(3) #49 Peter Makk (USC) vs. #111 Geronimo Espin (UTAH) - 6-4, 1-6, 4-3 susp.
(4) Ryan Colby (USC) vs. Bruno Caula (UTAH) - 3-6, 7-6 (5) susp.
(5) #99 Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Mathias Gavelin (UTAH) - 6-3, 7-6 (5)
(6) Samuel Rubell (USC) def. Bruno Krenn (UTAH) - 7-5, 3-6, 6-1*
Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 6*