LOS ANGELES – The Arizona men's tennis team fell to 9-14 on the season today after falling to 6th-ranked USC in Los Angeles. The loss brings the Wildcats to 0-5 in conference play.
 
"I was really happy with the competitive edge that Trent and Will played with today," commented head coach Clancy Shields. "Both of them held their ground and played competitive matches. We have got to have all of our guys clicking on all cylinders to win a match like this. We will look to improve on this with UCLA on Sunday."
 
Arizona seniors Oliver Plaskett and Will Kneale fell to the 11th-ranked ranked tandem of USC freshmen Brandon Holt and Riley Smith on court one to give USC the advantage in doubles. The 76th-ranked Trojan team of senior Nick Crystal and sophomore Laurens Verboven bested juniors Trent Botha and Shoki Kasahara on court two, securing the doubles point for USC.
 
Arizona couldn't shift the momentum in singles play where USC quickly extended its lead to 2-0 with USC sophomore Jake Jaede's 6-1, 6-4 victory over Kasahara on court four. Junior Shoti Meparidze couldn't best Holt, the 23rd-ranked singles player in the nation, and fell on court one by score of 6-2, 6-1. With USC leading on every court except for two, where Kneale tied things up by forcing a third set against Crystal, freshman Andres Reyes fell to Smith on court six, finalizing the score at 4-0.
 
The Wildcats will look to rebound from this loss and secure their first conference victory on Sunday, April 16 at 12:00 p.m. against seventh-ranked UCLA. The Bruins are riding a seven-match win streak after a victory over Utah today in Los Angeles.
 
Live stats for Arizona's match against UCLA will be available HERE
 
RESULTS
#6 USC 4, Arizona 0
April 14, 2017 | Marks Stadium (Los Angeles, Calif.)

DOUBLES
(1) #11 Holt/R. Smith (USC) def. Kneale/Plaskett (ARIZ) - 6-2
(2) #76 Crystal/Verboven (USC) def. Botha/Kasahara (ARIZ) - 6-3
(3) Jaede/Laser (USC) vs. Meparidze/Reyes (ARIZ) - 5-3 susp.
USC wins doubles point.
Order of finish: 1, 2
 
SINGLES
(1) #23 Brandon Holt (USC) def. Shoti Meparidze (ARIZ) - 6-2, 6-1
(2) Nick Crystal (USC) vs. Will Kneale (ARIZ) - 6-2, 3-6 susp.
(3) #72 Logan Smith (USC) vs. Trent Botha (ARIZ) - 7-5, 0-2 susp.
(4) Jack Jaede (USC) def. Shoki Kasahara (ARIZ) - 6-1, 6-4
(5) Thibault Forget (USC) vs. Oliver Plaskett (ARIZ) - 6-2, 5-3 susp.
(6) Riley Smith (USC) def. Andres Reyes (ARIZ) - 6-4, 6-2*
Order of finish: 4, 1, 6* 
 
Event Info:
Date/Time:At UCLA Sunday, April 16 at 12 p.m. MST
 
Location: At UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center: Parking/Directions
 
Twitter Updates: @ArizonaMTennis
 
The Field: No.7 UCLA  
 
Who's Competing for the Wildcats
Will Kneale
Oliver Plaskett
Shoki Kasahara
Trent Botha
Shoti Meparidze
Alejandro Reguant
 
 
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