Feb. 4, 2012

Cal-USC Box Score (PDF)

BERKELEY - The 13th-ranked California men's tennis team (3-2) was dealt its second consecutive loss following a 5-2 result against top-ranked USC (6-0) on Saturday, Feb. 4, at the Hellman Tennis Complex. The Golden Bears earned their two points on the singles courts; one each from junior Carlos Cueto and 42nd-ranked sophomore Ben McLachlan.

"We played two elite teams in the country," said head coach Peter Wright. "We should win one and could have won the other, today. We played good tennis, but USC was strong. We learned a little bit about ourselves and this has given us a little bit of a road map about where we need to go and where we need to get, as a team. We are not discouraged at all, in fact, I think we are inspired. We've got work to do, and we are ready to do it."

The Trojans got off to a fast start by claiming wins at No. 1 and No. 3 doubles to secure the first point of the day. At court three, Emilio Gomez and Roberto Quiroz teamed to earn an 8-1 win over junior Riki McLachlan and senior Tommie Murphy. At the top court, Cal's fifth-ranked team of senior Nick Andrews and junior Christoffer Konigsfeldt had its four-match winning streak snapped in an 8-3 loss at the hands of USC's team of Yannick Hanfmann and Steve Johnson.

Cal got a doubles victory at court two where its 27th-ranked team of Cueto and Ben McLachlan earned an 8-6 win in the tiebreaker to secure a 7-6 result against Daniel Nguyen and Ray Sarmiento. It was the duo's fifth straight victory; their 17th overall.

On the top singles court, USC went ahead, 2-0, in the dual when Johnson claimed a 6-2, 6-1 win against Andrews. The Trojans continued to press and got a 3-0 lead from No. 48-ranked Gomez's 6-0, 6-3 win against freshman Gregory Bayane on court five.

Cal got on the board to trail, 3-1, when No. 42-ranked Ben McLachlan took out 33rd-ranked Hanfmann in straight sets at No. 4 singles, 6-4, 6-4.

"It was a pretty solid match and I'm pretty happy with the win," said McLachlan about his singles match. "I was pretty disappointed that I had match point and it always bothers me and I get angry when I lose that, but you have to forget about it, pretty quick. You've got to think about what you can do."

The Trojans tacked up their fourth point of the day from court six where Quiroz defeated senior Ahmed Ismail, 6-2, 7-5. USC added one more point on a win at court three where No. 16 Nguyen defeated Konigsfeldt, 6-4, 6-3. Cueto had the final word of the day when he completed a 10-8 win in the match tiebreaker to defeat 12th-ranked Sarmiento, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0.

The Bears are back in action with a pair of 1:30 p.m. PT matches, next week, at the Hellman Tennis Complex. Cal and Sacramento State will meet on Wednesday, Feb. 8, and the Bears will take on Hawaii on Friday, Feb. 10. Admission is free. Please visit CalBears.com for more information.

No. 1 USC 5, No. 13 California 2
Hellman Tennis Complex | Berkeley, Calif.
Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Records: California (3-2), USC (6-0)
Doubles
1. Hanfmann/Johnson (USC) def. No. 5 Andrews/Konigsfeldt (CAL); 8-3
2. No. 27 Cueto/B. McLachlan (CAL) def. Nguyen/Sarmiento (USC); 7-6(6)
3. Gomez/Quiroz (USC) def. R. McLachlan/Murphy (CAL); 8-1
Order of finish: 3, 1*, 2 (USC wins doubles point)
Singles
1. Steve Johnson (USC) def. Nick Andrews (CAL); 6-2, 6-1
2. Carlos Cueto (CAL) def. No. 12 Ray Sarmiento (USC); 6-4, 3-6, 1-0(8)
3. No. 16 Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. Christoffer Konigsfeldt (CAL); 6-4, 6-3
4. No. 42 Ben McLachlan (CAL) def. No. 33 Yannick Hanfmann (USC); 6-4, 6-4
5. No. 48 Emilio Gomez (USC) def. Gregory Bayane (CAL); 6-0, 6-3
6. Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. Ahmed Ismail (CAL); 6-2, 7-5
Order of finish: 1, 5, 4, 6*, 3, 2