USC, UCLA WIN IN DRAMATIC CONCLUSION TO NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 20th May 2014

USC, UCLA WIN IN DRAMATIC CONCLUSION TO NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BY RICKY DIMON |

The Southern California men’s tennis team captured its university’s 100th national championship on Tuesday night at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. It is the program’s 21st title and its fifth in the last six years.

While the atmosphere may not have been quite as explosive as if Athens’ own University of Georgia had been in the championship, it was still electric from start to finish of a thrilling match. Even Andy Roddick–whose brother, John Roddick, is the head coach of runner-up Oklahoma–was on hand and vocal. The younger Roddick was constantly out of his seat and at times led the OU fans in “Boomer Sooner” cheers.

The support, however, was not quite enough. The Sooners started fast by taking the doubles point and going ahead 2-0 with a win at No. 3 singles, but USC responded with four straight singles wins. Max de Vroome eventually won the clincher at No. 4 with a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory. The Dutch sophomore twice gave back breaks in the final set, but broke one more time at 4-4 before converting his third championship point at 40-30 with a clean backhand volley.

Southern Cal also got singles victories from Yannick Hanfmann, Ray Sarmiento, and Eric Johnson. Senior captain Michael Grant was leading his match at No. 6 by a 7-6(5), 2-6, 4-2 margin when de Vroome ended it.

Earlier in the day, the girls title showdown was even more nail-biting. With the score tied 2-2 between UCLA and North Carolina, the remaining three singles showdowns were all in third sets. The two finalists split the first two, setting the stage for a decider between UCLA’s Kyle McPhillips and UNC’s Caroline Price. McPhillips ultimately prevailed 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 well after 5:00 p.m., more than four hours after the doubles portion of the competition had begun.

“This is the single best accomplishment I’ve ever had in my life,” McPhillips said in her post-match press conference. “I’ve played Wimbledon, Australian Open, French Open, U.S. Open, and nothing compares to this day right here. Winning individually is so different from winning for your team, your coaches, and school. This is the highlight of my tennis career.”

Topics: Ncaa, Ricky Dimon, Tennis, Tennis News, Ucla, USC

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10sBalls_com says:

May 20, 2014 at 11:03 pm

USC, UCLA WIN IN DRAMATIC CONCLUSION TO NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BY RICKY DIMON (@RD_Tennistalk) – http://t.co/VgxHLzeBnV #USC #UCLA
RD_Tennistalk says:

May 21, 2014 at 6:27 am

RT @10sBalls_com: USC, UCLA WIN IN DRAMATIC CONCLUSION TO NCAA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS BY RICKY DIMON (@RD_Tennistalk) – http://t.co/VgxHLzeBn…