The last several years this has been the biggest match of the season but this year these LA neighbors have taken a back seat to the big time tennis that’s been taking place in the state of Texas. USC and UCLA have an uncharacteristic 11 losses between them and both struggled last week in Northern California against Stanford and Cal.
Usually when these two play at the end of the season the #1 seed in the Pac 12 Tournament is at stake however Stanford has already locked that up so the winner of this takes the #2 seed and the loser falls to #3.
The Pac 12 Network will televise the singles portion starting at 6pm eastern/3pm pacific so tune in to hear the call from Paul Sunderland and Justin Gimlestob.
#9 USC (19-4) at #19 UCLA (14-7) – 5pm est/2pm pst – Live Scoring – Pac 12 Network – In this first meeting back on March 14th, USC took the doubles point and then cleaned up at the bottom 3 and if USC wants to win today they may have to do the same thing again. USC has struggled in doubles this year going just 14-9 and the Trojans have dropped the point the last 2 times out. UCLA has played better in doubles going 15-6 and has won the point in 5 of the last 6 matches.
Previous Result
Doubles Record:
USC 14-9 overall, 3-3 Pac 12
UCLA 15-6, 5-1 Pac 12
Projected Singles Lineup
1. #12 Yannick Hanfmann (USC 14.73) vs. #3 Mackenzie McDonald (UCLA 14.99)
2. #25 Roberto Quiroz (USC 14.43) vs. #32 Dennis Mkrtchian (UCLA 13.93)
3. Eric Johnson (USC 14.31) vs. #102 Martin Redlicki (UCLA 14.31)
4. #36 Jonny Wang (USC 14.21) vs. Karue Sell (UCLA 13.96)
5. #81 Max De Vroome (USC 14.12) vs. Joseph DiGiulio (UCLA 13.35)
6. #90 Nick Crystal (USC 13.98) vs. Austin Rapp (UCLA 12.88)
Others who could play: Gage Brymer (UCLA 13.79), Ryoto Tachi (UCLA 13.07), Connor Farren (USC 13.87)
FYI, the number beside the player’s school is the player’s Universal Tennis Rating as of April 16th. For more details about UTR check out their website.
Dual-Match Singles Results:
1. Hanfmann 9-5 vs. McDonald 11-1
2. Quiroz 13-4 vs. Mkrtchian 12-4
3. Johnson 17-2 vs. Redlicki 15-2
4. Wang 14-3 vs. Sell 14-5
5. De Vroome 15-2 vs. DiGiulio 6-6
6. Crystal 14-2 vs. Rapp 7-5
#1 singles – Yannick Hanfmann has really struggled lately dropping 5 of his last 7 singles matches and he has also sat out 2 of the last 4 doubles matches so you have to wonder if he’s 100% healthy right now. McDonald has won 4 in a row and has only lost once all year. Prediction: McDonald (UCLA) in 3
#2 singles – Quiroz had 6-match winning streak snapped on Saturday by Stanford’s John Morrissey in what turned out to be the deciding match. It was a surprising loss considering Quiroz was up a set and 5-2 in the 2nd and also since Quiroz had beat Morrissey in straights a month earlier. Mkrtchian has won 9 in a row and during that streak he also went 3-0 at #1 singles. Mkrtchian rolled over Quiroz in the last meeting and if they are paired up again I think we’ll see the same result. Prediction: Mkrtchian (UCLA) in 2
#3 singles – Johnson has been solid all season and is currently on a 3-match winning streak. Johnson played at #1 singles against Oregon, Utah, and Arizona going 2-1 in that stretch. Redlicki had an 11-match winning streak snapped last Friday by John Morrissey but he rebounded on Saturday and beat a tough Filip Bergevi. This match is a near toss up and was tied at 1-1 in the 3rd in the last meeting. Prediction: DNF or Johnson (USC) in 3
#4 singles – Wang has won 12 in a row and he clinched the win against UCLA the last time they played. Sell has won 6 in a row and 8 of 9 with the lone loss coming to Wang. Prediction: Wang (USC) in 2
#5 singles – De Vroome has won 7 in a row and 12 of his last 13 although I’d be surprised if we see him give his opponent a double-bagel like he did in the previous meeting. DiGiulio had a 4-match winning streak snapped by Stanford’s Nolan Paige though he led Cal’s JT Nishimura the next day in a match that was halted due to the clinch. Prediction: De Vroome (USC) in 2
#6 singles – Crystal had a 4-match winning streak snapped by Stanford’s David Hsu and in his 2 matches before that he was pushed to a 3rd set by Cal’s Mads Engsted and Arizona’s Trevor James. Rapp has split his last 4 matches and lost the last time out to Stanford’s David Hsu 7-5, 7-5. Prediction: Crystal (USC) in 2
I think these teams are even at 1, 2, and 3 but USC is just too good at 4, 5, and 6. I’ll take UCLA in doubles and at 1 and 2 singles with USC taking 3-6. Prediction: USC 4-3 (4-2 if they stop at the clinch)
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