Jan. 22, 2012

Results

LOS ANGELES, Calif. - After a rainout yesterday, the LMU men's tennis team traveled back to USC for a match against the top-ranked Trojans on Sunday. The Lions competed hard against the three-time National Champions, but eventually fell by a score of 7-0.

According to Head Coach Brad Sceney, "I was very proud of our team. We created opportunities on many of the courts, but just couldn't take the next step in converting those opportunities. We have to learn how to compete for each point and not allow lapses to creep in at important times. A team like USC is disciplined and relentless in its style, and if you give them half a chance, they are all over it."

USC earned the doubles point by way of 8-3 decisions from Nguyen/Sarmiento and Gomez/Quiroz. The first duo bested LMU's Volmari/Bjerke, while the latter defeated Northcott/van Kann. As singles players, Sarmiento and Nguyen rank in the Top-20 according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, as Sarmiento ranks 12th and Nguyen 16th.

On the singles side, No. 48 Emilio Gomez defeated LMU's Alex Wilton, 6-1, 6-1. Nicholas Bjerke also squared-off against a ranked-foe, dropping a match to No. 33 Yannick Hanfmann, 6-3, 6-3. Freshmen Todd Volmari and Felix Van Kann also suffered losses on Sunday, as Volmari lost a match, 7-5, 6-3, to Roberto Quiroz, and van Kann lost, 6-2, 6-4, to Eric Johnson. While Sebastian Bustamante fell is straight sets, 6-2, 7-5, to Jordi Vives, Tom Price managed to take the first set against Corey Smith, but eventually fell by a count of 4-6, 6-3 (9).

"We aim to take lessons learned from today, and if we are able to apply them for the remainder of the season, we will be in good shape," Sceney said. "We just played against the best there is, so it was great for the guys to experience that early in the season, and we take a lot of positives away from today."

The Lions will return to action on January 25 when they welcome cross-town rival Pepperdine to LMU for the first time in program history. That match will be played with Wells Fargo PCH Cup points on the line.

Doubles
1. Nguyen/Sarmiento defeated Volmari/Bjerke, 8-3
2. Gomez/Quiroz defeated Northcott/VanKann, 8-3
3. Eric Johnson/Hanfmann defeated Wilton/Bustamante, 8-0

Singles
1. #48 Emilio Gomez defeated Alex Wilton, 6-1, 6-1
2. #33 Yannick Hanfman defeated Nicholas Bjerke, 6-3, 6-3
3. Roberto Quiroz defeated Todd Volmari, 7-5, 6-3
4. Eric Johnson defeated Felix Van Kann, 6-2, 6-4
5. Jordi Vives defeated Sebastian Bustamante, 6-2, 7-5
6. Corey Smith defeated Tom Price, 4-6, 6-3 (9)