University of Washington
USC
Huskies Upset No. 8 USC 4-3 To Open Pac-12 Season
March 26, 2016 | Men's Tennis
SEATTLE – The No. 39 Washington men's tennis team began Pac-12 play today with a statement win, putting up a strong performance and upsetting No. 8 USC in a 4-3 victory at Bill Quillian Stadium.
“No question it was a super win today,” said head coach Matt Anger. “We know how good their players are as well as their team, which is why we're so happy with pulling out the victory.”
The Huskies were able to open the match by grabbing the doubles point, beginning with a big performance from Kawika Lam and Enzo Sommer on court two with a 6-4 victory over Max de Vroome and Jake DeVine. After owning the lead for most of the match, Piers Foley and Wendell Watanabe were unable to pull off the upset on court one, falling to No. 38 Nick Crystal and Laurens Verboven 7-5. With the match on court three set to decide the point, Jake Douglas and Gal Hakak closed a back and forth match, to win 6-4 and secure the 1-0 lead over USC.
In singles the Huskies carried the momentum from the doubles win by grabbing the first sets on courts one through four. The Trojans took a point back on court five however, with Sebastian Hawken falling to Thibault Forget 6-2, 6-1. On court four, Hakak grabbed a big win over 58th ranked Logan Smith by a score of 6-3, 6-4, with Jake Douglas following suit, defeating No. 109 Jake DeVine to put the Dawgs up 3-1.
Needing just one more match to clinch the upset, freshman Piers Foley stepped up big for the Dawgs on court six. After dropping his first set 6-2, Foley forced a third set and never looked back, with a 6-0 sweep in the third to give Washington the clinching point.
“I was very proud of the freshmen today,” said Anger. “Enzo ended up losing a close match and Piers clinching the match for us down on court six was big for us too. It's not easy to win 6-0 in the third set against anyone and certainly not against USC.”
Courts one and two remained, with No. 84 Mitch Stewart and Sommer in tight matches with two top ranked opponents. On court one, Stewart took 55th ranked Crystal to a tie-breaker in the second set after he had won the first 6-1. He was unable to grab the win however and was edged out 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3 by Crystal.
“Mitch was very close to winning his match today, so there was still more out there for us,” said Anger. “It just shows we were tough all the way through.”
Sommer had a similar story on court two, putting up an incredible fight against one of the best in the country in No. 25 Max de Vroome. After winning the first set 6-3, Sommer was unable to grab the second, and fell just short in the third by a final of 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4).
“I know a lot of people that are saying we have more wins now than we did last year and the year before that, but there's a lot out there that we want to keep climbing for,” said Anger. “There's more out there for us.”
Tonight's win was the highest ranked opponent defeated for the Huskies since a 4-3 win over No. 7 UCLA during the 2005-06 season. That year also happened to be the last time Washington defeated USC.
The Huskies will be back in action on Sunday when they will face No. 6 UCLA at noon at Bill Quillian Stadium if the weather permits. As always admission will be free and there will be pizza served to all in attendance at the conclusion of the doubles matches.
Keep up to date with the team on our website at GoHuskies.com, and be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest news and content.
Results:
No. 39 Washington – 4
No. 8 USC – 3
Doubles:
Court 1 – No. 38 Crystal/Verboven (USC) def. Foley/Watanabe (UW) 7-5
Court 2 – Lam/Sommer (UW) def. DeVine/de Vroome (USC) 6-4
Court 3 – Douglas/Hakak (UW) def. Jaede/Smith (USC) 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles:
Court 1 – No. 55 Nick Crystal (USC) def. No. 84 Mitch Stewart (UW) 1-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3
Court 2 – No. 25 Max de Vroome (USC) def. Enzo Sommer 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (4)
Court 3 – Jake Douglas (UW) def. No. 109 Jake DeVine (USC) 7-5, 6-3
Court 4 – Gal Hakak (UW) def. No. 58 Logan Smith 6-3, 6-4
Court 5 – Thibault Forget (USC) def. Sebastian Hawken (UW) 6-2, 6-1
Court 6 – Piers Foley (UW) def. Laurens Verboven (USC) 2-6, 6-4, 6-0
Order of Finish: 5, 4, 3, 6, 1, 2
