Dawgs Are Back For Pac-12 Swings Vs. USC, UCLA

THIS WEEK IN HUSKY MEN’S TENNIS

 

Friday, Apr. 5
Washington hosts #49 USC, 3 p.m. | Live Scores and Video
 
Sunday, Apr. 7
Washington hosts #25 UCLA, 1 p.m. | Live Scores and Video
 
SEATTLE – After six straight matches on the road, the Husky men’s tennis team finally comes back home this week for two huge Pac-12 dual matches against the Trojans and Bruins. Washington (7-10, 1-2 Pac-12) capped its long road trip with a conference win at Utah last Friday, giving the Dawgs a boost of momentum to carry home.
 
The Huskies host 49th-ranked USC first this Friday, Apr. 5, at 3 p.m. then 25th-ranked UCLA comes in on Sunday for a 1 p.m. match. Both matches will be played outside at Bill Quillian Stadium, weather permitting. Washington is 5-1 at home and finishes the regular season with four of its final five matches at home.
 
Washington had a series of close setbacks before breaking through with a 4-0 sweep at Utah. Prior to that, the Dawgs fell 4-3 at #63 Boise State and 4-3 at #39 Pepperdine, as well as 4-2 at #64 Santa Clara.
 
Several Huskies have been starting to string wins together in singles and doubles. Nedim Suko has won his last three at No. 4 singles, Dzianis Zharyn has won six of his last seven at No. 2 singles, and Ivan Sodan has won four of his past five at No. 5 singles.
 
In doubles, UW has won two of the last three doubles points, with Zharyn and Cesar Bouchelaghem winning three in a row at No. 1 doubles and moving back up in the rankings to No. 39. The recent new pairing of Heman Nama and Ivan Sodan have earned two wins at No. 3 doubles at Pepperdine and at Utah to help UW win the point.
 
USC is 5-11 on the year and 0-1 in Pac-12 play but still has several big wins and some tight losses to top teams. The Trojans recently had a 4-3 loss to No. 2 TCU. They have a 4-0 win over current No. 36 Michigan and a 4-3 win over current No. 13 San Diego. In the rankings, Peter Makk is No. 64 and Makk and Lodewijk Weststrate are No. 75 in doubles.
 
UCLA is ranked 25th and is 8-6 overall and just had a non-conference victory over the Trojans in its last match by a 4-1 count. The Bruins lost to the Arizona schools at home to sit at 0-2 in conference play, and they will play at Oregon first on Friday. Same as USC, the Bruins also had a 3-4 loss to No. 2 TCU back on Mar. 13, but followed that with a 4-3 win over currently 12th-ranked Harvard. Govind Nanda is ranked 22nd nationally in singles and Spencer Johnson is No. 120.
 
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