Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
USC
Men's Tennis Loses Tight Match to No. 7 USC
1/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Tennis
Jan. 25, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Ruben Torres' three-set win at No. 4 singles over Alex Krohn led seventh-ranked USC to a 4-3 victory over Fresno State at the Marks Tennis Stadium in Los Angeles.
The afternoon was a reversal of fortune for Krohn, who last week clinched the Bulldogs' 4-3 win at UC Irvine with a three-set victory. Against the Trojans (2-0), Krohn fell to Torres 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
USC, led by former Fresno State coach Peter Smith, jumped out to a 1-0 lead by sweeping the three doubles matches. The defending national champions quickly made it 2-0 when Daniel Langre took down Danny O'Rourke 6-4, 6-3.
But that's when the Bulldogs (1-2) began to make life difficult for USC. Sergiu Modoc picked up his first collegiate singles win with a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Parker Collins. The two teams would fight tooth and nail until the end, with all four remaining matches going to three sets.
Greg Shearer pulled Fresno State closer with a 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 win over 75th-ranked Johan Berg at No. 6. USC picked up a win at No. 1 for its third point, but the Bulldogs pulled even when Marc Schaerer notched his first win as a Bulldog by defeating Scott Patterson 4-6, 6-2, 6-2. That set up Torres' heroics.
Fresno State was without the services of No. 1 singles player Hector Almada, who did not make the trip with the team to L.A. due to a violation of team rules.
The Bulldogs return home Feb. 8 when they face Sacramento State at 2 p.m. at the Wathen Tennis Center.
No. 7 USC def. No. 60 Fresno State, 4-3
Doubles (USC wins doubles point)
1) Amritraj/Langre (USC) def. Shearer/O'Rourke (FS), 8-3
2) Brian Wright/Jeff Kazarian (USC) def. Sinn/Merdoc (FS), 8-6
3) Berg/Collins (USC) def. Suta/Krohn (FS), 8-3
Singles
1) Prakash Amritraj (USC) def. Stefan Suta (FS), 5-7, 7-5, 6-4
2) Greg Shearer (FS) def. No. 75 Johan Berg (USC), 6-1, 3-6, 7-5
3) Daniel Langre (USC) def. Danny O'Rourke (FS), 6-4, 6-3
4) Ruben Torres (USC) def. Alex Krohn (FS), 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5) Sergui Merdoc (FS) def. Parker Collins (USC), 6-2, 6-4
6) Marc Schaerer (FS) def. Scott Patterson (USC), 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
