USC Tennis

[Canyon.usc]

2-07-24, updated, Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Rankings.

Men. The team (4-0) rankings jumped up 2 spots from #7 to #5. Very good, the ITA computer must think highly of our boys and team. However, only 2 boys are ranked? P. Makk at #38 and L. Weststrate #96. I feel Weststrate should be around in the mid 50's. Heck, Karl Lee should be ranked in the 80's. Karl is a very good tennis player...

Women. Team (4-1) rankings stayed the same, holding on at #16. They must hold dat #16 or get lower rankings, it helps for favorable tournament draw. Below #16 is not good. Emma Charney is now #20 from #22 fair enough. I still think she is top 10 in nation. S. Han #52, N. Cheong #90, E. Cayetano #95, Grace Piper #103. I feel Eryn should be around mid 70's and Grace around mid 60's.

Hell, how can I argue with the ITA computer and its algorithms...

Shakato our girls and team, they have improved a lot from a rankings of #28 in nation last year. C.Swain and staff have done a good job dis season.

** Update. Just saw the bracket for Women's ITA Indoor Championships, 2-9-24 to 2-13-24, hosted by UDub, Seattle, Wa = only 16 teams, winners of their regionals. Dam, #16 USC will face #1 UNC. Our girls must play their very best tennis. Fight on girls. Stanford #2 plays Florida #15. Cal plays #4 Michigan, UDub plays NC State #8. No UCLA.

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-09-24

Women's Tennis. ITA Indoor Championship, host UDub, Seattle, Wa.

Aw our girls loss to the 2023 NC and #1 team in nation North Carolina, 1-4. Looking over the set scores our girls gave UNC a hard time. The match could have ended 4-3 UNC. Proud of our girls, they did not roll over for the #1 team.

USC #16 (L) UNC #1, 1-4

UNC took the Dbl's pt, they needed to win 3/6 single's and did dat.

1. S. Han (L) 4-6, 2-6

** 2. E. Charney (DNF) 3-6, 5-4 If they played it out, I feel Emma would have won in 3 sets. Emma is one mentally tuff cookie.

3. N. Cheong (L) 1-6, 2-6

** 4. E. Cayetano (W) 7-5, 6-0. Fight on to Eryn for the team's lone W. EC is on a roll.

** 5. G. Piper (DNF) 6-4, 5-7. After 2 sets it was 1/1. Knowing Grace, she would taken the 3rd set for da W.

6. L. Fairclough (L) 2-6, 4-6


Upset. Pepperdine #5 (L) vs Virginia #9, 2-5

 

[Rodgarnay51]

Women tennis.

Shaka, just learned C.Swain and staff landed 2 international players dat will play this 2024 Spring season. Good additions for depth.

Lily Fairclough, Australia, ITF (International Tennis Federation) ranking = #64. Her ITF rankings = to the USTA 5* Yellow Chip type rankings (26 to 65 rankings), second higest rankings, (5* Blue Chip = the highest rankings & the 25 best USA HS players) Have not seen Lily's HL tape but according to her ITF #64 rankings, I would rate her, B+ player. She could make the single's lineup, #6 position?

Imogen Haddad, England, ITF ranking = #843. Have not seen her HL tape but according to her very low ITF rankings, I would rate her a C- player. She's needs development. Hmm, C.Swain must see something in Imogen?

Canyon I’ve always wanted to ask you this. I’m curious about development of “projects” in tennis. Growing up in Newport Beach I played a fair amount and was good enough to get slaughtered by some really good players in tournaments. I would have been a solid JV-level player at Newport Harbor. But it was during baseball season which I greatly preferred and TBH my mom kind of pushed me into it.

My question is, do you see many players who are new to the game and might start out slow develop into national-level players? Of course with maturity, experience and a lot of practice you get better at anything, but it seemed to me that the better players were all good at a young age. In high school there was a vast chasm between the upper-level varsity players (future D1 players, teaching pros, etc.) and those who weren’t. I watched my cousin Lindsay Morse play Tracy Austin and they were both pro-level players as teenagers. Same with Chris Evert and Martina who I saw play in Mission Viejo (Martina might be an exception as she was pretty heavy when she was young). Sorry to be long-winded; I wonder if your experience confirms my theory that most development of tennis players occurs at a very young age, and if you don’t show a lot of promise by high school the train leaves the station.

 

[Canyon.usc]

Bruddah Rodgarnay, Good question. I'll try to make my reply short. To become a top 20 Pro (7.5), below #20 Pro (7.0) or D-1, D-2, D-3 college player (6.5 & 6.0) yes starting at an early age: 5 yrs to 8 yrs is vital. These serious tennis kids must have da proper support, inner circle, plan and goals: strong parental support, A+ coaching, get invited to 1 of 3 USTA national developmental centers (free coaching & court time, convenience hitting, practicing with other top players, discounted equipment, shoes, etc), hook up with sponsors and mucho practice 6 to 7 days a week. It takes many years to become a Pro or Collegian level player.

There are only 3 USTA national developmental centers: Flushing, NY, Orlando, Fl and Carson-Los Angeles, Calif. Our USTA ND program has been around for only maybe 15 to 18 years. We were falling behind in the rankings when the Pete Sampras, Monica Seles group retired. The old time players trained and developed via private lessons, the traditional development route on their own dime (very costly). Since most of the European countries had free national developmental programs, the USTA thought heck we must compete and start up a national developmental program too.

The USTA ND program has been a big success. Since its inception, the USA has been producing a good number of top male and female tennis players. Heck, the Pro, College, HS and Jr's top 100 rankings are filled with Americans. The key is to get invited to trained there. I think only the top ranked Jr's, HS, College and Pro's get to use the facilities. Unfortunately, the univited (lower ranked) players then must go the traditional route and pay da high cost (costly). Dat's why rankings are so important.

Most states have USTA juniors programs and sites, but it's not free. Kids must be dedicated, work hard, cross train, get stronger, improve their tennis skills. They must play local, regional, national and international tournaments for rankings. Tournaments are costly: travel & lodging expenses. Dat's where parents and sponsors financial support come in. The great players you mention started at an early age and had A+ support.

Private tennis academies are a great place for the development of advance players (Jr's, HS, College & Pro players). Academies = intense training, like a Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.

A big key is athleticism. Kids dat are more athletic will become the top players. Problem, most of our best athletic kids play, soccer, football, basketball, baseball, swim. What's left are the below average athletic kids. Dat's why on da men's Pro level we do not have players in da Top 8. It can be fix, they must do advance cross training for explosive movement, get stronger, A+ cardio. Tennis is brutal, players at all levels endure pain and injuries.

But, attitude, dedication and love of the game are very important too. Many kids drop out by 12 and 14 yrs old (can't handle the stress, putting in da time, and hard training). To become a world class player takes mucho hard work and sacrifice. Serious tennis kids do not have normal lives.

Someone may take up tennis in HS or even after HS (like me) and eventually achieve a (4.5, 5.0 5.5) USTA ratings and find success in HS, Jr College and USTA amateur tournaments. It took me 8 long, challenging years (26 yrs old) to get my A level ratings = 5.0 USTA ratings, being a good athlete was da key. Albeit, accomplished this on a part time basis while attending college and afterwards working full time. Of all da sports I played, tennis was da hardest to master. It takes a combinaiton of A+ tennis skills, tip top conditioning, and most all a tuff mental game to become an advance player (5.0 to 5.5). Plus, I played and entered mucho USTA and Open private club tournments.

To my knowledge, I do not know any player, male or female that took up the sport in HS and became a Pro tennis player (7.0, 7.5) or D-1, D-2 College player (6.5, 6.0). It's almost impossible to accomplish dat feat.

In short, there are different levels of tennis. To become a top Pro (7.5) like: Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, these players started at an early age, got the proper support, had the right attitude & love for game. Most of all, they worked very hard developing their game.

Peace & Aloha

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-10-24

Women ITA Indoor Championship, Consolation Round.(losers bracket)

USC #16 (5-2) (W) vs UDub #21, 4-3. Our Wahine’s won a very close match vs host UDub. Xlent USC took dat most important, swing Dbl’s pt. Next up is Pepperdine #5 today. Good luck girls, giv um one time.

USC took da Dbl’s pt. Xlent

1. S. Han (L) 2-6, 4-6

2. E. Charney (L) 2-6, 4-6. Dang, dat’s 2 L in recent weeks. Shocking…

3. N. Cheong (W) 7-6, 6-2. Great win by Naomi. The match was tied 3 to 3, Naomi’s W made it 4-3, USC wins da match.. Hele On & ShakaNaomi.

4. E. Cayetano (W) 6-1, 6-0. Dang, Eryn crushed her opponent quickly. EC is on fire! Happy for Eryn she got her game and confidence back.

5. G. Piper (W) 6-2, 6-3. Grace won quickly. She is one solid tennis player and tuff cookie.

6. L. Fairclough (L) 6-7, 4-6. 2 L in dis tournament. LF as a freshman is experiencing all da commotions, distractions and noise of college tennis. Takes time adjusting to college tennis. I think C.Swain must try one of the other girls, McKenna Koenig, Jr or Immi Haddad, Fr. at #6 spot.

** Upset, Quarter Finals. NC State #8 (W) vs UNC #1, 4-3. Redemption, NC St loss to UNC in da finals of the 2023 NC.

2-11-24. Semi Finals.

Stanford #2 vs Oklahoma St #3. Upset, Stanford (L) 2-4

Michigan #4 vs NC St #8. Michigan (W) 4-1

2nd Rd consolation, losers bracket.

USC #16 (L) vs Pepperdine #5, 2-4

USC took da Dbl's pt, very good. The lone single's win came from Grace Piper. Eyrn Cayetano (DNF) but was about to win her match. The real final score should have been 4-3 Pepperdine. Alarming Emma Charney loss again in straight sets. Our top player is in a funk. C.Swain must figure out what's going on with Emma's game & mind set. Da girls played Pepperdine way better vs last season. Dis team is a much improved team...

2-12-24 Finals and Championship match.

Oklahoma St #3 (W) vs. Michigan #4, 4-3. Note E.Charney younger sister, Piper Charney was ranked a high #4 nation in HS, 5* Blue Chip, 2023 class. Emma was ranked #10 in nation, 2022 class. Piper plays #5 for Michigan. Dam, Piper should have picked USC and played alongside with Emma.


Men's Tennis. 2-10-24

Dual match, USC #5 (L) vs Oklahoma St, 1-6. Man da team got drilled. Shocker, Bad day at the office. I'm too disappointed to even write up individual results. Once again no S.Dostanic and O.Weightman? Everyone had to move up one spot.

2-12-24. USC #5 (L) vs Baylor #30, 0-7, Bagel. Man, the team is in a Big downward spiral. Again no Dostanic and Weightman. Dis team lacks depth only 8 on da roster, the top 7 are very good players. Our #8 is really a doubles type player. So having 2 of our top players out, the team is in a bad place. But, losing 1-6 and 0-7 in consecutive matches, there are other issues with da team?

 

[Rodgarnay51]

Bruddah Rodgarnay, Good question. I'll try to make my reply short. To become a Pro (7.0) or D-1, D-2, D-3 college player (6.5 & 6.0) yes starting at an early age: 5 yrs to 8 yrs is vital. These serious tennis kids must have da proper support, inner circle, plan and goals: parents, coaching, get invited to 1 of 3 USTA national developmental centers (free coaching, court time, discounted equipment, shoes, etc), sponsors and mucho practice 6 to 7 days a week.

There are only 3 USTA national development centers: Flushing, NY, Orlando, Fl and Carson-Los Angeles, Calfi. Our USTA ND program has been around for only maybe 15 to 18 years. We were falling behind in the rankings when the Pete Sampras, Monica Seles group retired. The old time players trained and developed via private lessons, training the traditional development route (very costly). Since most of the European countries had national development programs, the USA thought heck we must compete and put together our own national development program.

The USTA ND program has been a big success. Since its inception, the USA is producing a ton of top male and female tennis players. Heck, the Pro, College HS and even Jr's top 100 rankings are filled with Americans. The key is to get invited to trained there. I think only the top ranked Jr's, HS, College and Pro's get to use the facilities. Unfortunately, the univited (lower ranked) players then must go the traditional route. Dat's why rankings are so important.

Kids must be dedecated and work hard, cross train, get stronger, improve their tennis skills. They must play local, regional, national and international tournaments for rankings. Tournaments are costly: travel & lodging expenses. Dat's where parents and sponsors financial support come in. The great players you mention started at an early age and had A+ support.

Private tennis academies are a great place for the development of advance players (Jr's, HS, College & Pro players). Academies = intense training, like a Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy.

A big key is athleticism. Kids dat are more athletic will become the top players. But, attitude, dedication and love of the game are very important too. I’ve seen kids drop out by 12 and 14 yrs old. To become a world class player takes mucho hard work and sacrifice. Serious tennis kids do not have normal lives.

Someone can take up tennis in HS or even after HS (like me) and become a (4.5 to 5.5) ratings and find success in HS, Jr College and amateur tournaments.

In short, there are different levels of tennis. To become a top Pro like: Chris Evert, Jimmy Connors, John McEnroe, Tracy Austin, these players started at an early age, got the proper support, had the right attitude & love for game. Most of all, they worked very hard developing their game.

Peace & Aloha

Thanks a lot for your insight Canyon!

 

[Canyon.usc]

Men’s Pro.

Last night, 2-12-24, I saw an American Pro tennis player, Patrick Kypson #151 ATP ranked, 24 yrs, 6’3” beat the #51 ranked player, M.Kecmanovic, Serbia, 6-4, 7-6. Never heard or saw Kypson play before. I am impressed with Kypson. He has a complete game. Great serves, smart, plays calm, has all the tennis skills and an All Court player, moves well and pretty good athlete.

Read up about him. Kypson was a top 12 ranked USTA Juniors, 5* Blue Chip HS player, 2017 from North Carolina. He attended Texas A&M for only one year, leaving for the Pro’s in 2018. As of 2022 his ATP world rankings were in da 500’s. 2 years ago, he hooked up with a new coach, & trainer, revamped his training and diet. He did sophisticated cross training, made sure he did not over practice tennis, court time (avoid getting stale) and concentrated in explosive movement, cardio and got stronger. In 2 years his rankings went from the 500’s to now #151. If he continues improving at this rate he will be in the 70’s by Sept 2024, after the US Open.

This has been my contention all along, our American men players are average athletes. If our top players do the type of cross training Kypson has done, we could have 2 to 3 players in the Top 10. Our top men are very good tennis players but lack athleticism. They must work hard on cross training, explosive All Court movement, get stonger, quicker and mucho improve their athleticism.

I really like this fine American player. Barring major injuries within 2 years he could be in the 40’s range ATP world rankings...

 

[Canyon.usc]

Men's Tennis.

2-10-24, USC #5 (L) vs Oklahoma St, 1-6. Man da team got killed. Shocker, Bad day at the office. I'm too disappointed to even write up individual results. Once again no S.Dostanic and O.Weightman? Everyone had to move up one spot.

2-12-24. USC #5 (L) vs Baylor #30, 0-7 another shocking loss, what da hell. Dam, the team is in a Big downward spiral. Again no Dostanic and Weightman. Dis team lacks depth only 8 on da roster, the top 7 are very good players. Our #8 is really a doubles type player. So having 2 of our top players out, the team is in a bad place. But, losing 1-6 and 0-7 in consecutive matches, I think there are other issues with da team?

Man, bad situation for da team with the ITA National Indoor Championships next week...

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-16-24

Men’s Tennis. ITA National Indoor Championships, U.Columbia, NY

USC #5 (12th seed) (L) vs Tennesse #7, (5th seed), 0-4 Yeah, USC was seeded #12 due to their 2 blow out losses last week. The new rankings will come out next week, 2-21-24. I think USC will get hammered down to #16.

Again, no S.Dostanic, but O.Weightman returned. If they played it out, the score would have been 4-3 Tennessee, much more respectable. In single’s Weightman #3 spot, Iakubenko #4 spot and K.Lee #5 spot were ahead & gonna win their matches.

Back to drawing board for da boys. C.Masi & C.Johnson must figure things out fast...

Update. Just learned dat S.Dostanic has a tender & painful injury which most likely require surgery. Dam, looks like SD is out for da season. Fight On, wishing Stefan all da best. Hopefully da team is able to regroup and play inspirational tennis da rest of season...

Dam it, the transfers of W.Merek and Ryan Colby hurts like heck..

 

[Pudly76]

 

[Canyon.usc]

Mahalo Bruddah Pudly. Shaka great win and upset by our Girls and team. What makes da W even more remarkable & special, da match was played at Michigan, home court advantage. Dam, our girls beat the #2 team dat was in the finals of da ITA National Indoor Championships, just days ago, 2-12-24, losing 3-4 to Oklahoma St #1.

Coach Swain and staff are doing an A+ job coaching da team dis season. But, all da credit to our girls playing A+ tennis. I think they worked very hard during the summer and in the Nov & Dec 2023 break. Hard work will produce good results...

Great, USC took dat most important Dbl’s pt. Now, all they had to do was win 3/6 singles and did dat. Xlent so far da girls have been winning dat crucial Dbl’s pt. Shaka to reserves McKenna Koenig and Parker Fry who came in for Dbl’s and won their match. Kudos to C.Swain & staff for A+ recruiting, dis team is deep, 10 strong. Yep, C.Swain is a great recruiter!

#3 spot, Grace Piper #103 (W) vs #18 J.Fliegner. 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 Upset, OK, but Grace is one tuff cookie, great mental game. For the last 2 to 3 weeks, I believed GP should have had a rankings in the 50’s. Hell, after dis big W, now I feel Grace should be ranked in da 40’s. Trust me, Grace is a very good tennis player and should be ranked as one of the nation's top players.

#5 spot, Eyrn Cayetano #95 (W) vs #57 L.Jones, 6-3, 6-3. Upset, heck no. Eyrn is playing like her top #5 rankings 2 years ago. Shoot, Eyrn is on fire and killing people. Very happy for Eyrn, she has found her confidence, form and A+, killer game back again. Eryn should get an updated mid range rankings in da 50's. But, in reality she is playing at a very high level right now, like top 20 in nation. I feel sorry for the other girls at the #5 spot, it's kinda unfair...

#6 spot, Lily Fairclough, Fr (W) vs Piper Charney (Emma’s younger sister) 6-3, 7-6. Strong, gutty win by Lily. Heck dis was a match up of 2 top freshmen.

S.Han, N.Cheong (L). Emma Charney DNF, sets were tied 1/1 and think Emma would have pulled out the win. It must have been nice for sisters Emma and Piper seeing one another, hopefully they spent some quality time.

Also, 2nd road trip match. USC (W) vs Michigan St. 6-1 Should have been a bagel, but Mich St. squeaked out the Dbl's pt (barely). But, USC won all 6 single's by big scores (dominated Mich St).


Men Tennis. ITA National Indoor Championship, Consolation Round, (loser bracket).

USC (L) vs Alabama, 1-4. Sad, another loss. What a disappointing and sudden downturn. Just 2 weeks ago they were undefeated and ranked #5 nation. In the next rankings, I think they will drop to mid 20's maybe more? What was gonna be another PAC 12 title, will most likely turn into one of the worst seasons. Wipe Out!

Losing S.Dostanic + the Merek and Colby transfers have hurt the team Big time…

More I think about things, shoot even without Dostanic there's enough talent to win matches. Seems like the boys just quit and there's no fight. Why? Come on boys, you are very good players. Regroup mentally and start playing like Trojans; you guys have the right stuff.

1. Peter Makk, Jr

2. Lodewijk Weststrate, Sr

3. Oscar Weightman, Fr

4. V. Iakubenco, Fr

5. Karl Lee, Soph

6. Sam Rubell, Grad/MS

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-20-24. New ITA Rankings.

Women. USC #9, last week #16. Congrats to our Wahines for a job well done. A big jump up & into da Top 10. Hell yeah our Girls deserve it too. Girls keep up your A+ tennis...

Emma Charney #24 was #22. With a couple of losses, dis is more than fair rankings. EC is our top player.

Grace Piper #43 was #103. Said it last week dat Grace should be ranked in da 40’s. Darn it's about time the ITA committee and computer recognized Grace talent and wins. Congrats to Grace for PAC 12 Player of da Week too.

Eryn Cayetano #90 was #95. Insulting and terrible rankings. No way Jose, Eryn should be ranked #45. To me, Eryn is playing like a top 20 player. Hold your head up Eryn & just keep winning, the ITA will eventually award you da right rankings.

Snow Han #60 was #43. Actually according to the team's pecking order, Snow should be playing the #4 spot, but instead plays the #1 spot thus playing da best players. C.Swain strategy, smart move.

The team's pecking order: Charney, Cayetano, Piper, Han, Cheong, #6 spot, Fairclough, Koenig, Haddad, Fry, Morra.

PAC 12. Stanford #3 was #2, USC #9 was #16, Cal #16 was #19, UCLA #29. Pepperdine #13 was #7


Men. USC #29 was #5. Not surprised, I figured it was gonna be #25. What a fall from grace. Shocking how quickly the team has fallen apart. Dang, 5 consecutive big losses, no fight in their play. C.Masi must stop da bleeding fast...

Peter Makk #63 was #45

L.Weststrate #90 stayed about the same.

PAC 12. Zona #9, ASU #22, UCLA #26, USC #29, Stanford #34 (#17 last year) huh, shoot with all their top HS talent dat's shocking. Same with UCLA #26, both teams are loaded top talent. Stanford and UCLA are underachieving, both shools should be in the top 15. Utah not ranked. Last year Utah's final rankings #18, what happened dis year?

Note about college individual rankings. D-1 college players are the 2nd best players in da World. Intercollegiate Tennis Assc., ITA rankings: 1-10 = elite players, they're actually Pro's. 11- 20 = could beat the top 10 on any given day. 21-50 = very good players. D-1 college players with an ITA rankings in da top 50 are world class players.

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-22-24

Men, Recruiting, 2024 Class

Very good news. C.Masi just signed Connor Church, Canada who is currently ranked #10 HS Tennis Recruiting, 5 Stars Blue Chip, #100 ITF (International Tennis Federation) World rankings with a best of #84 and da #2 ranked Canadian juniors.

98% of the 5* Blue Chip & 5* Yellow Chip recruits signed in Nov and da remaining players in Dec 2023. Throughout 2023, I followed USC recruiting closely and Church was not committed to any school. CC was one of the very few holdouts. Kudos to C.Masi for not giving up recruiting Church. In this case, persistence paid off.

C.Church joins Niels Hoffman (signed in Nov 2023), #14 Nation, #4 Calif, 5* Blue Chip in Sept 2024, fall season. These are the type of players needed to win championships. A+ recruiting job by C.Masi and C.Johnson in landing 2 highly ranked, 5 stars Blue Chip HS players. But, they must do this every year (2 players x 4 yrs) = 8 deep, having a perpetual roster of Top Players...

Besides da USA, C.Masi and C.Swain should target Euro players: Spain, Czechoslovakia, France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Sweden, England, Belguim. Other countries, Australia, Argentina, Chile, Canada, Japan, Brazil. Russia, China, but maybe Not due to their indifferent political ideology. All these countries produce Mucho A+ tennis players. In the past, Mexico produced very good players not so much anymore.

** How's dis dig, C.LR should sit down with C.Swain and C.Masi and pick their brains on how to recruit. Shoot, da tennis program does not even have NIL deals and yet, both coaches are getting top tennis players...

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-27-24

Men's tennis.

USC #29, 5-5 (W) vs Michigan #25, 5-7, 4-0

Shakada boys ended their 5 consecutive losses. Also, it was a redemption match. Last season, 2023, Michigan beat USC twice 4-0 dual match and 4-3 in the 2023 NC, Super Sweet 16 rd. Both teams are struggling dis year. Last year's final rankings, Michigan #5 and USC #10. Michigan lost their 3 top players to graduation.

Impressive, O.Weightman, Fr played the #2 spot and won. Weightman started the season at #5. Also, kudo's to Sam Rubell, a reserve #7, has done a very good job filling in at #6. Everyone had to move one spot up and fill da void with S.Dostanic #1 spot out to a season ending injury.

Very good USC took da Dbl's pt. Now they needed to win 3/6 single's and did dat. If they had played it out the score would have been 6-1 USC. I think dat da boys can win another PAC 12 championship without their top player, S.Dostanic. There's enough talent to pull it off, da boys must dig deep and play USC tennis. But, da team can not afford another major injury. Zona & ASU are the favorites with Stanford and UCLA capable of putting it all together and taking the title. It's gonna be a tight finish for da PAC 12 men's championship title...

SINGLES

1. #63 Peter Makk (USC) def. #18 Gavin Young (MICH) 6-1, 6-1
2. Oscar Weightman (USC) def. #108 Jacob Bickersteth (MICH) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
3. #90 Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) vs. Patorn Hanchaikul (MICH) 2-6, 6-2, 3-5 UNF
4. Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC) def. Will Cooksey (MICH) 6-2, 6-4
5. Karl Lee (USC) vs. Bjorn Swenson (MICH) 7-5, 4-6, 3-2 UNF
6. Samuel Rubell (USC) vs. Nicholas Steiglehner (MICH) 6-4, 6(6)-6(7) UNF

 

[Canyon.usc]

2-28-24 Updated ITA College Tennis Rankings.

Note: Only team rankings dis week. Teams are ranked weekly, Players every other week. UC schools: UCLA and Cal so far only played 7 matches, whereas most schools have played 10-13 matches. Looks like da UC schools have budget issues, limited travel expenses?

Men. USC #40 was #29 (#5 early season high, 4-0 record, then 5 consecutive losses) 5-5 record. Wow they dropped way down. Has to be worst rankings for da men's team ever...

PAC 12. Zona #9, 10-2, ASU #23, 9-4, UCLA #29 5-2, Stanford #33, 6-3


Women. USC #8 was #9, 7-3 record. Good da team ranked in top 10. Gotta keep it up for favorable tournament seeding.

PAC 12. Stanford #2, was #3, 10-1, just beat Texas #4, 4-3, USC #8. 7-3, Cal #17, 5-2, ASU # 23, 7-3, UDub #29, UCLA #36, 4-3. No way Jose UCLA is #36, they are loaded with top players. UCLA should be in da Top 12 rankings. Every league limits only 2 teams for the NC in April. It will be interesting who gets the 2nd spot for the PAC 12; Stanford is given. It will be between USC and UCLA. The Ojai PAC 12 tournament in April will determine things. I predict Stanford will win da 2024 team NC come May. Very strong roster + Great HC.

Pepperdine #7, was #13, 6-2, just beat Auburn #11, 6-1 and Florida #15, 5-2. Good rebound back into Top 10. Pepperdine is a top 10 team. Strong roster, A+ HC.

 

[Canyon.usc]

3-01-24

Women Tennis.

USC #8 (L) vs UCLA #36, 2-5

Dam, tuff losing to your home town rival. This was not an upset folks. For the last 2 months I could not understand why UCLA was ranked a low #36 with 4-3 record. They are loaded with 5* Blue Chip players, second to Stanford’s roster talent. They have the 2023 NC in single’s Tian Fangran, China. UCLA should be in the Top 12 easily with all dat talent. Plus, match was played at UCLA, home court advantage.

I just looked UCLA up and sure enough their 3 losses were to top 10 teams and beat a top 10 team. Nah, UCLA is not a #36 ranked team. They are a Top 12 type team. Teams they loss: Oklahoma St #1, 3-4 almost beat the #1 team, (Ohio St #9, 0-4 & Duke #17, 0-4, but their #1 Fangran & #2 Hance did not play). They beat Texas #6, 4-3. Dat's why I have a problem with the ITA computer, somehow it does not recognize quality losses and if key players did not play in the losses.

Our girls should not feel bad with dis loss, UCLA is loaded with top talent and their #36 rankings is way off & bogus. Shoot, UCLA and Stanford recruit the best talent every year. Our girls must forget the loss, regroup and get them the next time. I'm dam proud of our team.

Congrats to Eyrn and Naomi for winning their single’s match.

UCLA took da Dbl’s pt. All they needed to do was win 3/6 single’s.

Singles.

1. Tian Fangran (UCLA) def. #60 Snow Han (USC) 6-2, 6-4

2. Kimmi Hance (UCLA) def. #24 Emma Charney (USC) 6-4, 1-6, 6-1. 3 year ago, K.Hance was a highly decorated HS player from SS CIF, power house Pennisula HS, 5* Blue Chip, #4 ranked in nation and SS CIF Player of the Year.

3. #87 Bianca Fernandez (UCLA) def. #43 Grace Piper (USC) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
Side note: Bianca older sister, Leylah is Canada's #1 ranked Pro and has a current WTA world rankings #32 with a high #13.

4. #90 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer (UCLA) 6-3, 6-4

5. Naomi Cheong (USC) def. #124 Elise Wagle (UCLA) 6-3, 6-2

6. Ahmani Guichard (UCLA) def. Lily Fairclough (USC) 6-3, 6-0


3-02-24. USC vs CSUN, cancelled days ago due to rain forecast. Hopefully, the schools rescheduled? Aw, it would have been nice seeing reserves, Sloane Morra, Parker Fry, Immi Haddad, McKenna Koenig and Lily Fairclough play Singles and Dbl's. They would have pulled out a win over CSUN.

Solid lineup.
Doubles. #1 McKenna & Lily, #2 Parker & Immi, #3. Naomi & Sloane.

Singles. #1 Snow, #2 McKenna, #3 Lily, #4 Immi, #5 Parker, #6 Sloane.


3-04-24. USC #8 (W) vs Santa Barbara, 6-1. Record 8-4

Very good & Shaka rebound win. Kudos to McKenna Koenig, Parker Fry & Lily Fairclough for playing Dbl's and winning their match and again to McKenna for playing #6 spot single's and winning. Good dat Naomi is playing #5 single's, dat's the right spot. She should win a lot of matches and pts for da team.

DOUBLES
1. #35 Amelia Honer/Kira Reuter (UCSB) vs. #8 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney – 5-4 UNF.
2. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Lucy Lu/Camile Kiss (UCSB) – 6-3
3. #29 Parker Fry/Grace Piper (USC) def. Carla Pacot/Tyra Richardson (UCSB) - 6-4

USC wins doubles point.

SINGLES
1. #62 Amelia Honer (UCSB) def. #60 Snow Han (USC) – 7-5, 6-2
2. #24 Emma Charney def. Camile Kiss (UCSB) – 6-3, 6-2
3. #43 Grace Piper (USC) def. Tyra Richardson (UCSB) 6-4, 6-0
4. #90 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. Kira Reuter (UCSB) – 6-1, 6-2
5. Naomi Cheong (USC) def. Lucy Lu (UCSB) – 6-3, 6-0
6. McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Carla Pacot (UCSB) – 6-2, 6-2

 

[Canyon.usc]

What da heck, saw dat Stefan Dostanic played and loss (3-4-24) in da qualifiers at the big & major Indian Wells Calif. Open Pro tennis tournament. 2 weeks ago read dat he had a season ending injury (bogus report?). Anyone know what's up with Stefan? He has not played in 3 weeks for da team?

 

[Canyon.usc]

3-06-24

Updated ITA College Tennis Rankings.

Men. LW = last week

USC #32, last week #40 (high #5), 5-5 record

PAC 12. Zona #7, 12-2, ASU #18, 10-5, UCLA #31, 5-2, Stanford #41, 5-4.

Ohio St #1, 15-0, TCU #2, 10-1, Virginia #3, 10-4, Wake Forest #4, 11-4, Kentucky #5. 11-2. Looks right.


Women.

USC, #11, LW #8, 7-4 record

PAC 12 Stanford, #3, LW #2, 10-1, Cal #17, 5-2, UCLA #19, LW #36, 5-3, big jump up, but the #19 ranking is correct for now (I feel UCLA is #7 to #10 type team), UDub #25, 10-4, ASU #30, 7-3,

Pepperdine #8, 7-2. Watch out for Pepperdine in the NC

Oklahoma St, #1, 13-0, Michigan #2, 11-3 LW #3, Stanford #3, LW #2, 10-1, Virginia #4, 11-2, UNC #5, 11-2. Looks right.

USC single’s rankings. E.Charney #31, high #20, Grace Piper #51, LW 43, Snow Han #88, Eryn Cayetano #113, LW #90. I give up trying to figure out why the drop, EC won 2 matches last week? Eryn should be ranked in da 40’s. Eryn is killing people. Right now I would bet big money EC would beat any of the Top #18 to #29 players in nation.

PAC 12. Stanford: Connie Ma #13, plays #2, played #3 last year and was the #2 ranked player in 2022 as a freshman. But she was not invited to the 2023 NC, due to 2 players limit per school. A.Blake #26, plays #1, A.Yepifanova #38, plays #3. These 3 players are Top 15 players. Yepifanova played #1 last year made the Qt finals/elite 8 da 2023 NC. A.Blake played #2 last year and made da semi finals in 2023 NC. Freaken Stanford is loaded with Top players, 10 deep. Their #4 to #10 players could play #1 or #2 for most schools.

 

[Canyon.usc]

Women Tennis.

Xlent our Wahines won their 2 scheduled matches this weekend. UDub was gonna be a tuff one, but da Girls took care of Biz. After dis weekend, USC updated record, 9-4.

3-08-24, Friday Played at home, Marks Tennis Center

USC #11 (W) vs UDub #25, 4-1

DOUBLES
1. #11 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC) def. #55 Astrid Olsen/Alexia Jacobs (WASH) – 6-2
2. Erika Matsuda/Dariya Detkovskaya (WASH) def. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) – 6-4
3. Melissa Sakar/Catherine Gagnon (WASH) def. #36 Parker Fry/Grace Piper (USC) – 6-2

Washington wins doubles point. USC needed to win 4 singles and did dat. Grace was about to win her match = 5 singles pts and maybe McKenna would have won as well, making the final score 6-1 USC.

SINGLES
1. #88 Snow Han (USC) def. Erika Matsuda (WASH) – 6-3, 7-5. Strong win by Snow
2. #31 Emma Charney (USC) def. #67 Alexia Jacobs (WASH) – 6-2, 6-3. Much needed win & good job.
3. #51 Grace Piper (USC) def. Astrid Olsen (WASH) – 7-5, 5-3 UNF.
4. #113 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. Melissa Sakar (WASH) – 6-2, 6-1
5. Naomi Cheong (USC) def. Catherine Gagnon (WASH) – 6-2, 6-0
6. McKenna Koenig (USC) vs. Dariya Detkovskaya (WASH) – 3-6, 6-5 UNF.


3-09-24, Saturday

USC #11 (W) vs Washington St., 5-2

DOUBLES
1. Eva Alvarez Sande/Elyse Tse (WSU) def. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) – 6-4
2. #36 Grace Piper/Parker Fry (USC) def. Yura Nakagawa/Fifa Kumhom (WSU) – 6-4
3. Snow Han/Naomi Cheong (USC) def. Hania Abouelsaad/Martina Markov (WSU) – 6-4

USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 1, 2, 3*

SINGLES
1. #88 Snow Han (USC) W vs. Eva Alvarez Sande (WSU) – 3-6, 6-2 1-0 (10-7)
2. #31 Emma Charney (USC) W vs. Elyse Tse (WSU) - 6-2, 6-3
3. Yura Nakagawa (WSU) def. #51 Grace Piper (USC) –7-5, 6-4, Shocking loss.
4. Fifa Kumhom (WSU) def. Naomi Cheong (USC) – 7-6 (4), RET.
5. McKenna Koenig (USC) W vs. Hania Abouelsaad (WSU) – 6-3, 6-1, Nice win McKenna
6. Sloane Morra (USC) W def. vs Martina Markov (WSU) – 6-3, 6-3, ShakaSloane played and won.

Eryn Cayetano took a well deserve break. Hope Naomi DNF & pulling out of her match is not serious, da team needs her down the stretch.

 

[Canyon.usc]

Men.

Wipe Out, another bad weekend for our Boys. The team loss 2 scheduled matches by big scores. There must be some underlying problems? The losses are by big margins and in straight sets. It seems there’s no fight with key players. I won't post results. The team rankings will really drop from #32 to da mid 40’s.

1. 3-8-24, USC #32 (L) vs Pepperdine #51, 1-4. Bad loss. Karl Lee won his match & da lone USC point. Shoot, Stefan Dostanic returned & played at his #1 spot, but loss. 3 weeks ago, I read dat he had a tender & painful injury dat most likely required surgery. I figured the season was over for Stefan? Looks like the report was inaccurate.

2. 3-10-24, USC (L) vs Stanford #41, 0-4. Another Bad loss. What’s going on, S.Dostanic and even Oscar Weightman did not play?

 

[SouthbayTrojan91]

Seems like the men's team has just decided they don't want to compete anymore. Is there internal strife with the staff?

 

[Canyon.usc]

Seems like the men's team has just decided they don't want to compete anymore. Is there internal strife with the staff?

Good point and ? Bruddah. Looking over team news since Nov 2023 maybe C.Masi lost his team. It started when 2 strong, 1st string players Colby #5 and Merek #3 transfered, unhappy players? Going by match results (losing by big set scores) dat indicates yeah the boys are not competing hard. There has to be something going on within da team (low morale & team spirit, dissension, players and coaches not in sink)? But, dat's just a guess.

I've been following USC tennis since the mid 50's and I believe this is gonna be the worst season ever.

 

[WestwoodTrojan]

Good point and ? Bruddah. Looking over team news since Nov 2023 maybe C.Masi lost his team. It started when 2 strong, 1st string players Colby #5 and Merek #3 transfered, unhappy players? Going by match results (losing by big set scores) dat indicates yeah the boys are not competing hard. There has to be something going on within da team (low morale & team spirit, dissension, players and coaches not in sink)? But, dat's just a guess.

I've been following USC tennis since the mid 50's and I believe this is gonna be the worst season ever.

I have heard that the team is partying a lot. Things have steadily gone downhill since Masi took over for Peter Smith. It's like going from Pete Carroll to Clay Helton. Masi is not a well respected coach nationwide and the super elite players (foreign and domestic) per normal SC standards do not want to come and play for him. Players like Westrate who came in as a super elite freshman foreign player 4 years ago have regressed in their time at SC. Masi benched Ryder Jackson who is now playing in the upper lineup for CAL. He benched Colby who is now at Georgia and doing very well. Marek posted on his social media that he had a drug problem and he ended up leaving the team earlier this year. Lerner Tien took off after playing for a couple of months last season. Seems like Jen Cohen and Carol Folt are focused on women's sports with the exception of football and basketball so doubt there will be a change made anytime soon.

 

[Canyon.usc]

I have heard that the team is partying a lot. Things have steadily gone downhill since Masi took over for Peter Smith. It's like going from Pete Carroll to Clay Helton. Masi is not a well respected coach nationwide and the super elite players (foreign and domestic) per normal SC standards do not want to come and play for him. Players like Westrate who came in as a super elite freshman foreign player 4 years ago have regressed in their time at SC. Masi benched Ryder Jackson who is now playing in the upper lineup for CAL. He benched Colby who is now at Georgia and doing very well. Marek posted on his social media that he had a drug problem and he ended up leaving the team earlier this year. Lerner Tien took off after playing for a couple of months last season. Seems like Jen Cohen and Carol Folt are focused on women's sports with the exception of football and basketball so doubt there will be a change made anytime soon.

Eh Bruddah WestwoodTrojan, appreciate your reply and post. Partying too much is a bad receipe for student athletes. It's a kiss of death for a sport like tennis which requires mucho conditioning and fitness. As you know, C.Masi was C.Smith's AC, moved on as HC and was very successful at San Diego and Texas Tech. I feel C.Masi is a very good tennis coach. He has done well since coming back as HC for USC, taking multiple PAC 12 titles. But, he is only a B grade recruiter vs C.Smith, A+ (Best recruiter during his time at USC). Stanford and UCLA out recruits C.Masi, but his USC teams beat them, so C.Masi knows tennis. He just needs to step up in recruiting and avoid no down year.

It kills me to see the state of our men's tennis team. This year team has gone south fast. Early rankings at #5 nation and dropping fast. I think this week's rankings they will drop around #44. Like you pointed out, all the players dat left and transfered has done well at the other schools.

Agree, C.Masi has a downfall, he plays favorites. Last year, C.Masi kept playing Bradley Frye, who kept losing his weekly matches. I voiced my strong opinion ova here, C.Masi should play Ryan Colby instead. Yeah Ryder Jackson was a solid player for USC but hardly played. Not surprised one bit dat Ryder is doing well at Cal. But, I think he followed C.Kwinta to Cal. 2 years ago Jake Sands, 5* Blue Chip, who I liked a lot rode da bench as a Jr and Sr. Shoot JS played well and won most his matches his Soph year at da #6 and #5 spots.

Eh, do you know anything about Stefan Dostanic? 3 weeks ago, read he had an injury dat required surgery, but he returned last week and currently playing tennis (loss his matches). When S.Dostanic plays his A game, he is a top 6 player in nation. SD is a dam good tennis player, love his game. Please reply if you know any scoop about S.Dostanic. Again, Mahalo for your input.

Peace & Aloha

 

[Canyon.usc]

3-12-24, ITA College Rankings. LW = last week

Women.

USC #9, LW #11, 10-4 record. USC keeps winning, da ITA think highly our Wahines. To be in the Top 10 is something to be proud of. Congrats to our girls for playing A+ tennis all season. Nice job by C.Swain and staff...

PAC 12. Stanford #3, USC #9, Cal #12, UCLA #18 at the end the season they will be ranked #8-#10, very talented team..

Pepperdine #4, LW #8. Watch out for Pepperdine in the 2024 NC, May...

In the 2024 NC, Stanford, Pepperdine, USC or UCLA could make the quaterfinals (last 8 teams). As usual, the West Coast will be represented well in the NC tournament.

Men.

USC #44, LW #32, 5-7 record. Wipe Out!

PAC 12. Zona #5, ASU #22, UCLA #29, Stanford #30

 

[Pudly76]

 

[Canyon.usc]

CoCo Gauf mechanical problems.

Unreal, sadly CoCo has the worst forehand (D grade) I've ever seen at the pro, college and even junior's level. Who da hell taught her dat bad & terrible forehand? Since she entered the pro's WTA 5 years ago, none of her coaches have fixed it. CoCo has had around 5 different coaches, including her Dad. Terrible-wrong strange Western grip, awful swing, follow thru, feet planting. She can not drive da balls (put away, passing, forcefull shots) with her forehand. Shame on her Dad and every coach for not fixing her forehand.

She needs a complete forehand overhaul. I firmly believe if they want to fix it, it would take 3 to 4 months of dedicated & proper practice (devote only forehands 2 hours, 2,200 balls a day + watch lots of film of other pro's and her workouts) to complete the task.

2nd serves (C grade) are unreliable, she double faults too much and during crucial games and points.

CoCo is very athletic, great backhand, B+ 1st serves, plays calm, A+ mental game, but she must fix these 2 things to become one of the tennis greats...

 

[Canyon.usc]

Women.

3-15-24, Friday. Our Girls, USC #9 beat Zona, 5-2 and 3-16-24 beat ASU, 4-0, updated 11-4 record. Very good weekend, 2-0, everyone played well. Because both Zona and ASU have low rankings, the team will stay at #9. Looks like Naomi Cheong at da #5 spot is out with an injury, hopefully it's not serious? Da team needs Naomi with the big matches coming up, Pepperdine, Stanford, Cal and rubber match with UCLA, then the Ojai Tournament.

Zona match, 3-15-24

DOUBLES.
1. Brandelyn Fulgenzi/Reece Carter (ARIZ) vs. #11 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC) 6-5 UNF
2. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Martyna Ostrzygalo/Kayla Wilkins (ARIZ) 7-5
3. #36 Grace Piper/Parker Fry (USC) def. Belen Nevenhoven/Midori Castillo-Meza (ARIZ) 6-4

USC wins doubles point. Xlent, da Girls have been winning 90% of da Dbl's pts since January.
Order of finish: 3, 2

SINGLES
1. #123 Reece Carter (ARIZ) def. #88 Snow Han (USC) 6-2, 6-0
2. #31 Emma Charney (USC) def. Kayla Wilkins (ARIZ) 6-2, 6-3. Solid win for Emma
3. #113 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. Martyna Ostrzygalo (ARIZ) 7-5, 6-4. OK Eryn moved up to #3, another solid W. Does not matter, Grace or Eryn at #3 is just perfect.
4. #51 Grace Piper (USC) def. Brandelyn Fulgenzi (ARIZ) 4-6, 6-2, 6-1. Grace is one tuff cookie.
5. Midori Castillo-Meza (ARIZ) def. Lily Fairclough (USC) 1-6, 6-2, 6-4
6. McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Tanvi Narendran (ARIZ) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0. Very good win for McKenna.

Order of finish: 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6


ASU match. 3-16-24

DOUBLES
1. #11 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC) vs. Patricija Spaka/Chelsea Fontenel (ASU) 3-3 UNF
2. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Sara Svetac/Rachel Hanford (ASU) 6-2
3. #36 Grace Piper/Parker Fry (USC) def. Marianna Argyrokastriti/Emilija Tverijonaite (ASU) 6-1

USC wins doubles point. Great job.
Order of finish: 2,3

SINGLES
1. #88 Snow Han (USC) def. Chelsea Fontenel (ASU) 6-3, 6-2. Nice win for Snow.
2. #31 Emma Charney (USC) def. Marianna Argyrokastriti (ASU) 6-4, 6-1. Solid win for Emma
3. #113 Eryn Cayetano (USC) vs. Emilija Tverijonaite (ASU) 4-6, 3-3 DNF. Amazing 1st set loss in 3 months. Eryn has been winning matches in straight sets and by big scores.
4. #51 Grace Piper (USC) def. Sara Svetac (ASU) 6-4, 6-2. Grace is a terrific tennis player.
5. Lily Fairclough (USC) vs. Rachel Hanford (ASU) 6-2, 2-6, 3-4 DNF
6. McKenna Koenig (USC) vs. Patricija Spaka (ASU) 1-6, 6-5 DNF

Order of finish: 4,1,2

 

[Canyon.usc]

Men. Updated record, 5-9

USC #44 loss 2 matches dis weekend, #2 TCU 3-4 and #9 Texas 0-4. Even though they loss, da Boys battled hard, competed like heck and played with Trojan fighting spirit. The team were simply undermanned, no Dostanic at #1 spot and Weightman at #3 spot. Having only 8 on da roster makes things difficult. I'm proud how the Boys fought and competed against 2 top ranked teams. A big Fight On to da team.

3-15-24, USC #44 (L) vs TCU #2, 3-4. Shaka da Boys, gave the #2 in nation a hard time. So close to an upset. If USC won da Dbl's pt or Karl or Niroop won their 3rd and last set, da team would have pulled da upset.

DOUBLES
1. #2 Sebastian Gorzny/Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Peter Makk/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) 6-4
2. #40 Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Samuel Rubell/Niroop Vallabhaneni (USC) 6-3
3. Volodymyr Iakubenko/Karl Lee (USC) vs. Jake Pinnington/Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 5-4 UNF

TCU wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 2, 1

SINGLES
1. #10 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #50 Peter Makk (USC) 6-1, 7-5
2. Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC) def. #35 Pedro Vives (TCU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. Congrats to Volody beating the #35 player in nation.
3. #102 Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. #53 Sebastian Gorzny (TCU) 7-6(5), 6-1. Congrats to Lodewijk for beating the #53 player in nation.
4. #87 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Karl Lee (USC) 6-4, 4-6, 7-5. Aw, Karl played hard, losing in 3 tuff sets.
5. Samuel Rubell (USC) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 0-6, 6-3, 6-3. Shakato Sam for his big Win.
6. Duncan Chan (TCU) def. Niroop Vallabhaneni (USC) 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Good job by Niroop for playing hard and taking it to 3 close sets. I was wrong Niroop is not only a Dbl's specialist.

3-17-24. USC #44 (L) vs Texas #9, 0-6. Could have been worst, Elliot Spizzirri #1 in nation did not play; saw dat he went & played (loss) in da qualifiers, Miami Open. 3-10-24 Texas beat #1 Ohio St 5-2, but loss to #2 TCU 3-2-24. Texas should be #5 in nation. Unreal, Texas has the #1 E.Spizzirri and #2 M.Braswell ranked players in nation. Both are Americans.

Note: If you look at the history of NCAA NC tournaments, M & WM individual champions, something like 94% are Americans. Even with the flood of international players the last 25+ yrs our M & WM tennis players are taking the NC titles. Dat shows America's tennis program is producing mucho top tennis players. But, dat's a deceiving stat, the best international players at 16 yrs/18 yrs old enter the Pro circuit and bypass NCAA college tennis.


DOUBLES
(1) Peter Makk/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) vs. Siem Woldeab/Eshan Talluri (UT) 5-5 UNF
(2) Gilles-Arnaud Bailly/Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. Samuel Rubell/Niroop Vallabhaneni (USC) 6-3
(3) Micah Braswell/Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Volodymyr Iakubenko/Karl Lee (USC) 6-3

Texas wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 2, 3

SINGLES

1. #2 Micah Braswell (UT) def. #50 Peter Makk (USC) 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
2. #48 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly (UT) def. Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC) 6-2, 6-4
3. Pierre-Yves Bailly (UT) def. #102 Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4. So close for Lodewijk.
4. #51 Jonah Braswell (UT) vs. Karl Lee (USC) 5-7, 6-2, 4-1 UNF. Karl would have won.
5. Cleeve Harper (UT) def. Samuel Rubell (USC) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5. Sam played his heart out!
6. Lucas Brown (UT) def. Niroop Vallabhaneni (USC) 6-0, 6-1

 

[Canyon.usc]

3-22-24 to 3-24-24 match play.

Women. Record 13-6

3-22-24. USC #9 (L) vs Pepperdine #3, 0-4. Pepperdine is now #3 in nation, LW #6. Like I said watch out for Pepperdine in da NC tournament, May 2024. I still pick Stanford #2 to win da NC. Some concern, 2nd week Naomi Cheong #5 spot did not play. Hope she heals soon, da team needs her.

3-24-24. USC #9 (W) vs Hawaii, 4-0. Good rebound win.

Men. Record 5-10

3-22-24. USC #47 (L) vs Zona #6, 0-6. Wow da Boys got slammed by Zona. Again Dostanic and Weightman did not play.

3-24-24. The ASU match was cancelled.

 

[SouthbayTrojan91]

3-22-24 to 3-24-24 match play.

Women. Record 13-6

3-22-24. USC #9 (L) vs Pepperdine #3, 0-4. Pepperdine is now #3 in nation, LW #6. Like I said watch out for Pepperdine in da NC tournament, May 2024. I still pick Stanford #2 to win da NC. Some concern, 2nd week Naomi Cheong #5 spot did not play. Hope she heals soon, da team needs her.

3-24-24. USC #9 (W) vs Hawaii, 4-0. Good rebound win.

Men. Reocrd 5-10

3-22-24. USC #47 (L) vs Zona #6, 0-6. Wow da Boys got slammed by Zona. Again Dostanic and Weightman did not play.

3-24-24. The ASU match was cancelled.

The Men's team is a dumpster fire.

 

[Canyon.usc]

The Men's team is a dumpster fire.

Bruddah we're in abnormal territory. Neva eva seen such a down year. This season is the result of 2 straight years of below average recruiting. Making matter even worst, the team lost 2, 1st string players, Colby and Merek via TP.

But, C.Masi did pickup 2 fine international players, Weightman and Iakubenko to replace them. But injuries to Dostanic #1 spot and Weightman #3 spot just killed da team. Having only 8 players on da roster just could not make up losing Dostanic & Weightman, 1st string players.

But, looks like there are other dumb things going on according to a poster. I feel C.Masi is a good tennis coach. He must step up recruiting the very top USA and international players every year (no down years). College tennis is all about recruiting 5* Blue Chip, 5* Yellow Chip and Top 40 ITF world ranked type players. Then, coaching up these top HS players into top collegian players.

Looks like the boys have found their game again. Last week they played hard and competed well (close losses) vs #2 TCU and #5 Texas.

Our Women (Wahines) team is doing well #9 in nation. They will get invited to the NC playoffs and placed into one of 16 regional sites. The men's team may (long shot) get invited...

 

[Canyon.usc]

ITA College Tennis Rankings, 3-26-24 weekly update. LW = last week rankings.

Women.

USC #9, LW #9, 13-5 record. Very good held on their top 10 rankings. They must hold dat #9 or improve it to get a favorable regional draw. Hopefully, they get to host 1/16 regionals at Mark's Tennis Center, homecourt advantage. There are 16 regionals x 4 teams per region = 64 teams playoff. The winner of each region goes to the Super Sweet 16 at Lake Nona, Orlando, Fl, USTA National Campus Tennis Center, May 2024.

PAC 12: Stanford #5, LW #3, 12-1. Stupid, why did Stanford drop down? I feel they are the #2 in nation. They are my favorite to win da NC. USC #9, Cal #11, 11-3, UCLA #17, 9-3, watch out for the Bruins. I feel they are a top 10 team.

Oklahoma St, #1, 19-0 favorite to win it all
Michigan #2, 16-3 hell our Girls beat them in Feb.
Pepperdine #3, LW #5, 10-3. Well deserved. 2 weeks ago #13, climbed da rankings fast. Dangerous team
UGA #4, 12-3. Nice jump into top 4

My top 4 rankings, OKlahoma St, Stanford, Pepperdine, Michigan.

Men.

USC #47, LW #47, 5-10 record. Surprised they held on to #47 rankings with bad loss to Zona last week.

PAC 12: Zona #7, LW #6, 16-2. Wow, Zona is very strong dis year. ASU #17, 13-6, UCLA #28, 7-6, Stanford #33, 10-4

Top 4. Ohio St #1, 20-1, Virginia #2, 15-4, TCU #3, 15-2, Texas #4, 14-3. This looks right, most likely the NC Final 4 in May. Same 4 teams from last year's, 2023 NC tournament Final 4. Shoot, like clock work USC were always in the Final 4...

 

[Canyon.usc]

Women. 3-30-24 weekend matches. 1-1, updated record 14-6

Our girls traveled up north to play Stanford #5 (L) and Cal #11 (W) ranked national teams. Plus, they had to deal with bad weather, heavy rains

3-30-24. USC #9 (L) vs Stanford #5, 1-4. Yeah, Stanford is so dam good. Once again heavy favorites to win the PAC 12 title at Ojai, April and I predict win da NC in May, Orlando, Fl. In my book they are the #2 ranked team. Heck, our girls played hard and competed well. Very proud of their efforts.

Stanford's HC Lele Forood lands top HS ranked players in nation annually, 98% are American players. Rarely, C.Forood recruits international players. Their roster is 10 deep. C.Forood, is da #2 John Wooden of women's tennis. In 23 seasons she holds an incredible 535-60 W/L record, 10 NCAA NC team titles + 4 runner up's 2nd place + 3 Final 4, 5 single's Champs, 35 All Americans, 2004-2006 NC teams went undefeated, dat's 3 straight years of zero losses = 3 NC titles.

C.Forood was an AA at Stanford 1978 to 1980, played in da Pro's with a high #30 world rankings in singles. She played for and was the AC for the legendary Stanford's HC, Frank Brennan (1979-2000) for 14 yrs before taking over as HC in 2000. C.Frank Brennan in 21 years as HC is the #1 John Wooden of Women's tennis with 10 NCAA NC titles, 510-50 W/L record, 6 runner up's 2nd place.

Thus between the 2 HC's, Forood and Brennan, Stanford has won 20 NCAA team titles + 10, 2nd place. Dat's insane. Since 1979, Stanford has dominated women's tennis like no other school... Wipe out, Stanford should be in the Big 10 along with USC, UCLA, UDub & Ducks. Stanford has so many NCAA championships in every sport. Can't imagine they picked the ACC conference, what a dumb move...

Actually, da ACC is a power house tennis conference: N.Carolina, N.Carolina St, Virginia, Duke, Miami and now Stanford. Wow!! I made notes of Stanford 1-6 players and their HS rankings.

DOUBLES
1) #52 Ma/Yepifanova (STAN) def. #15 Cayetano/Charney (USC), 6-2
2) Fairclough/Koenig (USC) led Blake/Houghton (STAN), 5-4 UNF.
3) Hui/Xu (STAN) def. #42 Parker Fry/Piper (USC), 6-4
Stanford took the Dbl's pt.
Order of Finish: 1, 3

SINGLES
1) #26 Angelica Blake (STAN) vs. # 93 Snow Han (USC), 7-6 (5), 3-1 UNF. Blake, Gr/MS, Florida, 2019 HS class was da #4 ranked in nation. In 2023 Blake reached the semi's or final 4 in the NC tournament.

2) #13 Connie Ma (STAN) def. #28 Emma Charney (USC), 6-0, 6-1. Heck Connie Ma, Jr, 29-5 record = top 3 best record, Dublin HS, Calif was da #1 ranked HS player 2 years straight, 11th & 12th grades 2020 to 2021. As a Stanford freshman (2022) reached da NCAA NC finals in singles, loss in 3 sets, ended up with #2 rankings in nation. CM is an A+ player & in my book #5 player in nation. Her 5 losses dis season were to top 15 players and most went 3 close sets.

3) #27 Alexandra Yepifanova (STAN) def. #61 Grace Piper (USC), 7-5, 6-4. A.Yepifanova, Jr, Florida, 2021 HS class was da #4 ranked in nation, same HS class as C.Ma. She reached da Qt finals in 2023 NCAA NC tournament.

4) #108 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. #92 Alexis Blokhina (STAN), 6-3, 6-3. Congrats to Eryn, A+ win. Blokhina, Soph, San Franciso, Ca, Soph was da #3 ranked player in da 2022 HS class. Heck, Eryn was a highly ranked player as well. EC was da #7 nation, #1 Calif in 2019 class and SS CIF single's champ.

5) Katherine Hui (STAN) def. Lily Fairclough (USC), 6-3, 6-1. K.Hui, Fr, San Diego, Ca was da #2 ranked HS player in nation, 2023 class.

6) #103 Valencia Xu (STAN) vs. McKenna Koenig (USC), 7-6 (1), 3-1 UNF. V.Xu, Jr, New Jersey was da #5 ranked HS player, 2021 class.

Order of Finish: 2, 5, 4, 3

3-31-24. USC #9 (W) vs Cal #11. Great win, Cal is always a tuff team. Cal 1-6 singles are nationally ranked players. Dis was a close match, the difference USC took dat swing, crucial Dbl's pt. Shoot the PAC 12 has 4 top teams dis season: Stanford #5, USC #9, Cal #11 and UCLA #16 but I believe da Bruins = a Top 10 team, #8 in my book.

DOUBLES
1. #15 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC) def. #23 Mao Mushika/Hannah Viller Moeller (CAL) - 7-5
2. Jessica Alsola/Valentina Ivanov (CAL) def. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) - 7-6(9-7)
3. #42 Parker Fry/Grace Piper (USC) def. Berta Passola/Katja Wiersholm (CAL) - 6-2

USC wins doubles point. Dat was the difference.
Order of finish: 3,2,1

SINGLES
1. #57 Valentina Ivanov (CAL) def. #93 Snow Han (USC) - 6-4, 6-1
2. #28 Emma Charney (USC) def. #38 Hannah Viller Moeller (CAL) - 6-2, 7-6(5)* A+match, straight sets win by Emma, our top player.
3. #61 Grace Piper (USC) def. #53 Katja Wiersholm (CAL) - 6-3, 7-6(7). Fight On Grace, Great Win!.
4. #108 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. 54 Jessica Alsola (CAL) - 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. ShakaEryn pulled out a tuff 3 sets match. A+ mental effort by Eryn.
5. #125 Mao Mushika (CAL) def. McKenna Koenig (USC) - 6-2, 3-6, 6-1. Fight On, McKenna played well, 3 tuff sets.
6. Lan Mi (CAL) def. Naomi Cheong (USC) - 6-3, 4-3 INJ. Oh No, Naomi returned but was re-injured. Man what a big set back. We need Naomi strong play & leadership for dis important stretch of da season.


Men. 3-29-24. USC #47 (L) vs UCLA #28, 1-4. Dam, last year da Boys blanked & beat UCLA 3/3 matches. Different season...

 

[Canyon.usc]

4-03-24. NCAA, ITA Tennis Rankings.


Women. LW = last week

USC #9, LW #9, 14-6 record. Very good holding on their Top 10 rankings.

Stanford #5, LW #5, 14-2. Loss to UCLA #14, 3-4, mild upset. Told you watch out for UCLA.

Cal #10, LW #11, 12-4

UCLA #14, LW #16, 11-4, 5 weeks ago #36 rankings-stupid. Climbing fast. Told you da Bruins were a Top 10 team. In 2 weeks they will get a top 10 rankings. UCLA will be dangerous at Ojai and da NC tournaments. They are loaded with top players and well coached. HC Stella Sampras Webster is top 6 coach in nation.

Pepperdine #3, LW #3, 11-3. Da Waves will do well at the NC tournament. Dis team is filled with top players and well coached. Their HC, Per Nilsson is top 4 coach in nation.


Men.

USC #49, LW #47, 5-11 record. Wipe Out!

Zona #9, LW #7, 17-3. Loss to Stanford, 3-4 upset.

Stanford #18, LW #28, 12-4, Big jump. Beat #7 Zona 4-3, on a 7 match win streak. Not surprised, Stanford's roster is filled with former top ranked HS players.

ASU #21, LW #22, 13-7

UCLA #25, LW #25, 8-6 = 14 matches. Most schools have already played 16 to 20 matches. I think da UC and Cal State schools are under strict travel budget?

 

[WestwoodTrojan]

Our once proud men's tennis team is now officially a dumpster fire. I believe for the first time ever, we were swept by the Northwest schools over the weekend, losing to a very mediocre Oregon team today. Oregon has losses this year to Denver, Boise State, Texas San Antonio, UCSB and Florida Atlantic. Oregon was able to beat us even without their #2 player. Our record vs Oregon tennis in the 2000's was 23-0 leading up to today. Brett Masi's squad has now lost 8 straight matches and is 5-13 on the year. On Friday vs Washington we had to forfeit position 6 singles due to a player being injured in doubles without even having one substitute to fill in. This is all a result of sub-par recruiting (by SC standards) and poor player development since Masi took over for legendary coach Peter Smith 5 years ago. I hope Jen Cohen is paying attention as this is downright embarrassing !!

 

[Canyon.usc]

4-5-24 to 4-7-24

Women tennis. A+ road trip. It's always tuff going on da road to play matches. Good job by our Girls winning at Colorado and Utah, 2-0 weekend. Updated record 16-6. Concerned, Naomi Cheong #5 spot still out with injury (3 weeks).

USC #9 (W) vs Colorado #72, 6-1

Colorado wins Dbl's pt. Very surprised, USC has been winning 90% of da Dbl's pt since Jan. 2024

DOUBLES
1. El Sayed/Rebec (CU) def. No. 14 Cayetano/Charney (USC) 6-4
2. Stanojevic/Ventura (CU) vs. Fairclough/Koenig (USC) 6-6 (2),UNF.
3. Bubalo/Nelson (CU) def. No. 54 Fry/Piper (USC) 6-4

Colorado wins doubles point.
Order of Finish: (3,1*)

Shaka our Girls rebounded with vengence after losing the Dbl’s pt and took/won all 6 singles.

SINGLES
1. No. 100 Snow Han (USC) def. Aya El Sayed (CU) 6-4, 7-5*. A+ win by Snow.
2. No. 28 Emma Charney (USC) def. Elys Ventura (CU) 6-4, 6-0. Emma smoked her opponent.
3. No. 56 Grace Piper (USC) def. Mila Stanojevic (CU) 7-6(3), 7-6(8). Tuff 2 tie breakers sets, solid win
Grace.
4. No. 68 Eryn Cayetano (USC) def. Betina Tokac (CU) 7-5, 6-1. Another A+ win by Eryn.
5. McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Alexandra Abyasova (CU) 7-6(5), 6-4. A+ win by McKenna at the #5 spot.
6. Sloane Morra (USC) def. Pia Rebec (CU) 6-1, 7-5. Shakato Sloane for her win. C.Swain found a solid #6 with Naomi being out at #5.

Order of Finish: 2,4,6,1*,5,3


4-07-24. USC #9 (W) vs Utah, 5-2. Man, Utah play good tennis, gave our Girls all they could handle.

DOUBLES
1. Ana Cruz/Marcela Lopez (UTAH) def. No. 14 Eryn Cayetano/Emma Charney (USC) 6-2
2. Lily Fairclough/McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Samantha Horwood/Kat Lyman (UTAH) – 7-6(5)
3. No. 54 Parker Fry/Grace Piper (USC) def. Sara Akid/Yuhan Liu (UTAH) – 6-2

USC wins doubles point. Nice rebound win.
Order of Finish: (3,1, 2*)

SINGLES
1. No. 100 Snow Han (USC) def. Marcela Lopez (UTAH) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. Solid win by Snow
2. Yuhan Liu (UTAH) def. No. 28 Emma Charney (USC) 6-1, 7-5. Wow upset L in straight sets.
3. No. 56 Grace Piper (USC) def. Kaila Barksdale (UTAH) 6-2, 6-3. A+ win by Grace
4. Kat Lyman (UTAH) def. No. 68 Eryn Cayetano (USC) 6-2, 6-2 .Very Rare L by Eryn, undefeated since
January 2024. At least improved her rankings from #108 (stupid). But, I still disagree, Eryn is #55 in my book.
5. McKenna Koenig (USC) def. Emma Kamper (UTAH) 5-7, 6-3, 6-3*. Tuff 3 sets win by McKenna.
6. Sloane Morra (USC) def. Sara Akid (UTAH) 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). A+ 3 sets win by Sloane tuff mental game.
Dat's 4 straight wins since playing da #6 spot. Happy for Sloane for playing & winning valuable
pts for da team. Shakaand Fight On Sloane...

Order of Finish: 3,4,1, 2,5*,6

 

[Canyon.usc]

4-09-24 ITA College Rankings.

Women. PR = previous rankings

USC #10, PR #9, 16-6 record

PAC 12. The westcoast has 5 top teams: Stanford #3, USC #10, Cal #9, UCLA #15 and Pepperdine #7. The Ojai tournament is gonna be interesting. Would not surprise me one bit if UCLA took da title in Ojai and beat Stanford in da finals.

Stanford, #3, PR #5, 16-2, 2nd best record in college. Oklahoma St #1, 23-0 best record. Just last week Stanford loss to Pepperdine.

Cal, #9, PR #11, 14-4 Beat Pepperdine #3, 4-3 upset. 3-17-24 Pepperdine smoked Cal 6-1. And, USC just beat Cal, 4-3 last week. Just goes to show how strong these 4 teams are. The 2024 season for the da westcoast is one big Musical Chair...

USC #10, PR #9. With Cal upsetting Pepperdine, they moved ahead of USC. For what ever da reason USC can not beat Pepperdine in the last 6 years. And, UCLA has our number as well. When da big tournaments comes up, Stanford just digs deep and pulls out wins. Dat's great coaching.

UCLA #15, PR #16, 14-4. Very dangerous team, loaded with top players.

Pepperdine #7, PR #3, 11-5

Men. USC #54, PR = #49, 5-13. Seems like eternity, very early on the team was ranked #5 in nation. Worst season ever. Wipe Out!!

 

[uscvball]

Oklahoma St #1, 21-0 best record.

23-0 now. Unbelievable.

Why has Pepperdine only played 16 matches? Pretty low compared to the field.

 

[Canyon.usc]

23-0 now. Unbelievable.

Why has Pepperdine only played 16 matches? Pretty low compared to the field.

Sista Veebs, thanxs for the OK St (21-0 me) and Pepperdine (15-5 me) records corrections. I should edit better before posting, typing too fast, LOL. Maybe Pepperdine (16 games) has a strict budget? Most teams have played 20 to 23 matches. Even da UC and Cal State schools have played only 17-18 matches, budget issues too?