No. 13 USC Men’s Tennis Opens Another NCAA Run On Home Turf

THIS WEEK
No. 13 USC is set to open up its 2022 NCAA campaign from home turf for the 15th straight time, hosting No. 72 Nevada, No. 68 UC Irvine and No. 17 San Diego for first- and second-round competition May 6-7 at Marks Stadium. On Friday (May 6), UC Irvine and San Diego will start things off at 10 a.m. And at 1 p.m., USC will take on Nevada. Winning teams will square off in the NCAA Second Round at 1 p.m. on Saturday (May 7) to fight for a ticket to the NCAA Super Regional at sites to be determined. The eight teams that advance out of that round will head to Urbana, Ill., for the remaining rounds of NCAA competition taking place May 19-22. So, too, will NCAA Individual Championships be held at Illinois' Khan Outdoor Tennis Complex, with singles and doubles competition running May 23-28.   

NCAA OPENING ROUNDS  | MARKS STADIUM
Friday, May 6
10 a.m. — #68 UC Irvine (17-6) vs. #17 San Diego (22-3)
1 p.m. — [13] #13 USC (21-5) vs. #72 Nevada (19-7)
Saturday, May 7
1 p.m. — NCAA Second Round

IN THE RANKINGS        
The Trojans opened 2022 ranked No. 9 in the nation — an upgrade from the No. 10 spot it finished up at in 2021. As of the latest set of ITA National Team Rankings (released M ay 4), USC stands at No. 13 in the land. Individual rankings also were released on May 4, with four Trojans currently ranked in singles. Junior Stefan Dostanic is standing tall at #7 in the nation. He is joined by #56 Peter Makk, #105 Bradley Frye and #117 Lodewijk Weststrate on the list. In doubles, USC has Dostanic and Frye now standing at #7 in the land, while Makk and Weststrate are  on the  map at #76.
 
NCAA NOTES    
Under the direction of head coach Brett Masi for the third season, USC is making its 15th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, and 43rd overall appearance. Now carrying a 21-5 overall record, the No. 12-seeded Trojans are looking to extend their stretch of reaching at least the NCAA Round of 16 in the past 14 tournaments held. With five NCAA crowns claimed since 2009, USC continues to lead the nation with 21 national championships all-time, and holds a 110-37 overall record in the NCAA Tournament. USC was a No. 12 seed in 2021 in a run to the NCAA Quarterfinals. During USC's current 15-year run of NCAA appearances, USC has been seeded No. 1 (2012 & 2014), No. 2 (2011), No. 4 (2013 & 2017), No. 5 (2010), No. 7 (2015), No. 8 (2009 & 2019), No. 10 (2016 & 2018), No. 12 (2007 & 2021) and No. 13 (2022) — with NCAA titles captured in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2014. 

TROJANS TO DATE    
USC secured its place in the 2022 NCAA Tournament as an automatic qualifier after its dominating run to the Pac-12 Tournament Championship. The title was the third consecutive conference crown and sixth overall for the Trojans and improved their record to 21-5 overall. It's the 32nd 20-win season all-time by the Trojans. In the last NCAA tourney, USC was a No. 12 seed and reached the 2021 NCAA Quarterfinals.  Ranked No. 13 in the nation in the latest poll, 13th-seeded USC has a roster balanced by veteran and up-and-coming young talent. With momentum gained from the Pac-12 Championship, USC also boasts four ranked singles players as well as two ranked doubles pairs. That includes top-10 spots for #6 Stefan Dostanic in singles and #8 Dostanic and Bradley Frye in doubles. 

SCOUTING NEVADA
Nevada (19-7) is making its first-ever NCAA appearance after winning the Mountain West championship last week. Coached by Silvain Malroux, the Wolfpack is currently ranked No. 72 in the nation and has no players currently ranked in singles or doubles. USC's last meeting against Nevada was a 9-0 USC win back in 1981.

SCOUTING UCI
UC Irvine (17-6) is back in the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2011 after winning its fourth Big West title. Coached by Mike Saunders, the Anteaters are currently ranked No. 68 in the nation and have #87 Emmanuel Coste ranked nationally in singles. In a series dating back to 1969, USC is 47-3 all-time against UC Irvine, after USC beat the Anteaters 6-1 earlier this season at Marks Stadium.

SCOUTING USD
San Diego (22-3) is making its seventh straight NCAA appearance as champions as an automatic qualifiers as the WCC champion. Coached by Ryan Keckley, the Toreros have #6 August Holmgren and #111 Gui Osorio ranked in singles. In doubles, USD has #22 Holmgren/Osorio. In a series dating back to 1975, USC is 42-3 all-time against USD after a 4-0 win when the teams met earlier this season at Marks Stadium.

PAC-12 CHAMPS    
USC worked its way to its third  straight Pac-12 Tournament title after a dominant showing in Ojai, dropping only one singles match during the run to the Trojans' sixth  overall conference crown. The No. 2 seed in the tourney, USC cruised past No. 7 seeded Cal 4-0 in the quarterfinals with  the  clincher coming from Samuel Rubell to get the Trojans to the semifinals for the 10th consecutive time. Against No. 3 seed Stanford in the  semis, USC snagged another speedy doubles point and then pressed on to claim three straight-set singes victories on wins from Bradley Frye, Lodewijk Weststrate, and Ryan Colby. In the title match for the ninth time, USC flexed their doubles muscles early against an upset-minded No. 6 seeded Washington, whipping up a 1-0 lead with a couple swift wins. In singles, Ryan Colby left no doubt in his court four match, as the freshman hit the gas for a 6-3, 6-1 win that tugged the Trojans ahead 2-0. The Huskies answered back with a win on court six, but USC had another straight-set win on the agenda. At the No. 3 spot, #56 Peter Makk remained in victory mode as he notched  a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win to get it to 3-1 USC. The other three matches, meanwhile, were stretched into three sets, with Washington fighting back to force a third on court five, while Trojans Stefan Dostanic and Bradley Frye had shifted their momentum to bring up third sets on their courts. It would be Frye who hit the finish line first, having shrugged off a tiebreak loss in the first set before churning out solid performances in the next two. He brought the hammer down from the service line to come through with a 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-3 comeback clincher from court two to haul in another trophy for his Trojans.

NCAA INDIVIDUAL ACTION    
USC has a fresh set of faces heading into their first NCAA Individual competition, with two Trojans locked in for singles play and one USC doubles duo in that draw. Junior Stefan Dostanic and freshman Peter Makk have secured their first spots in the 64-player NCAA Singles draw, while Dostanic and senior Bradley Frye will make their NCAA doubles debut together. As the No. 7 seed in the NCAA Singles draw, Dostanic has already guaranteed himself his first round of ITA All-America honors. He'll double down on that alongside Frye as a No. 5-8 seeded pair in NCAA Doubles, locking up All-America status there, too. Dostanic was the automatic qualifier in singles and in doubles with Frye as the top representatives out of the Pac-12. Dostanic carries a 17-match singles win streak into the coming NCAA Team Tournament. He boasts a 35-4 overall singles record, marking the most single-season wins by a Trojan since 2016-17. This year, he rose to a career-best singles ranking of No. 2 in the nation, and he currently sits at No. 6 in the land to help him lock up that No. 7 seed in this year's NCAA Singles draw. Makk, meanwhile, grips a nice win streak of his own. He's won seven straight singles matches as the freshman heads into his first NCAA experience. At 23-11 overall in singles, he boasts the second most wins by a Trojan this season, and he currently ranks No. 56 in the nation. USC's top doubles duo — Dostanic and Frye — carry a 23-9 overall record into NCAA play. They've ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation this year and are currently slotted at No. 8. Both will be making their first trips into NCAA Individual action with this year's No. 5-8 seeding into the tourney.

BY THE NUMBERS        
USC's winningest player to date continues to be junior Stefan Dostanic, who has churned out 35 singles wins while riding a 17-match win streak. Five other Trojans now join him with double-digit wins on the singles side, with freshman Peter Makk and holding 23 wins, freshman Ryan Colby and senior Bradley Frye with 19 each,  sophomore Lodewijk Weststrate with 18, and junior Ryder Jackson with 11. In doubles, Dostanic/Frye have played the most matches together and boast the most wins with their 23-9 record together to date.

PAC-12 POWER        
USC men's tennis is enjoying a bumper crop of Pac-12 awards with a near-sweep of the top honors. For the second straight season, USC boasts the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year and the Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year, although there are new faces in those spots. Junior Stefan Dostanic is the Singles Player of the Year as well as being alongside Bradley Frye for Doubles Team of the Year accolades. And weighing in with his first pick as Pac-12 Coach of the Year is Brett Masi'. 

BRETT MASI: COACH OF THE YEAR        
Head coach Brett Masi's selection as Pac-12 Coach of the Year is his first and the 12th such honor by a USC head coach in program history. Overall, he is the fourth Trojan to win the award. Under Masi's direction this season — the first played under "normal" conditions since Masi started in 2019 — the Trojans claimed their third consecutive Pac-12 Tournament title and have laid claim to the 32rd 20-win season in program history. 

STEFAN DOSTANIC: SINGLES & DOUBLES SWEEP        
Junior Stefan Dostanic's pick as the Pac-12 Singles Player of the Year is the 12th for a Trojan all-time. Also standing out as half of this year's Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year, he is the fifth Trojan to sweep those  two awards in a season. Dostanic's standout junior campaign has seen him rise as high as No. 2 in the nation in singles — he's currently No. 7 — and gather up 35 singles wins to date to mark the most by a Trojan in a single season since 2016-17. He also has a spot on the 2022 All-Pac-12 First Team, an upgrade from last year's Honorable Mention. As the recently-revealed No. 7 seed in the coming NCAA Singles draw and a No. 5-8 seed with Frye in the NCAA Doubles competition, Dostanic has already also secured his first ITA All-America honors. In doubles, Dostanic and Bradley Frye carry a 23-9 overall record into NCAA play. They've ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation this year and are currently slotted at No. 7. 

BRADLEY FRYE: TOP DOUBLES & SECOND TEAM    
Dostanic's partner in crime, senior Bradley Frye, has paired his Pac-12 Doubles Team of the Year honor — the seventh time USC has claimed that award — with a place on the All-Pac-12 Second Team. It's an upgrade for him as well, following 2021 Honorable Mention. And Frye, in joining Dostanic in the NCAA Doubles draw for the first time, also has laid claim to ITA All-America status. In singles, Frye has clinched six dual matches, including the recent Pac-12 Tournament title. He's currently ranked No. 105 in the nation in singles. 

YOUNG GUNS: HONORABLE MENTION    
USC's five-pack earning All-Pac-12 Honorable Mention are all first-time recipients aside from sophomore Lodewijk Weststrate, who has repeat honors the books now. He's joined on this year's list by freshmen Ryan Colby and Peter Makk, along with sophomore newcomer Samuel Rubell and junior Ryder Jackson. All five have been instrumental in the USC lineup, which surrendered just one individual match during the  Trojans' run to the 2022 Pac-12 Tournament Championship. Four of the five have collected double-digit singles wins to date, led by NCAA singles-bound Makk's 23 victories. The group as a whole has also combined forces to clinch 15 of USC's 21 dual-match wins to date. Freshman Colby has seven of those clinchers. In the latest ITA national rankings, these honorable mention selections include No. 56 Makk and No. 121 Weststrate in singles, while those two have combined for a No. 76 ranking together in doubles.

LAST SEASON    
In Brett Masi's second season at the helm of the USC program, the Trojans posted a 23-7 overall record and claimed the 2021 Pac-12 Tournament Championship  along the way. No fall competition was held due to the coronavirus pandemic, but action eventually got underway in January 2021. The Trojans were ranked No. 1 in the nation entering 2021 — a nod to the 2020 ITA National Team Indoor Championship the Trojans had won before the pandemic brought competition to a halt that year. After a run to the 2021 NCAA Quarterfinals, where USC fell in a tough 4-3 decision to Texas, the Trojans ended the season ranked No. 10 in the land. Seniors Daniel Cukierman and Riley Smith both earned ITA All-American  status for singles and doubles, having made a run  to the  NCAA Doubles quarterfinals and finishing up ranked No. 6 in the nation. In singles, Cukierman reached the NCAA Singles Round of 16 and wrapped his USC career ranked No. 24 in the nation. Smith, meanwhile, reached the NCAA Singles Round of 32 and ended up ranked No. 53. Sophomore Stefan Dostanic finished up at No. 98 in the final national singles rankings, and was No. 88 in doubles alongside Bradley Frye. •