SAN DIEGO — August Holmgren defeated the nation's No. 1 singles player and Blake Kasday notched his first singles win as a Torero, but San Diego men's tennis (4-5, 1-0 WCC) fell to No. 10 USC (12-4, 1-0 Pac-12) by a 5-2 margin at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center on Tuesday afternoon.

"Congrats to the Trojans and Coach Masi," San Diego head coach Ryan Keckley said after the match. "USC is a team full of talent who is very well coached. USC has been a top-five team in the country for the past two years and to have them on our courts speaks volumes about the opportunity we had today. In singles, we jumped on them early and had chances to capitalize on four first sets. We missed out on a few key points that ultimately shifted the momentum in their favor."

The doubles point was decided when USC's Jake Sands and Lodewijk Weststrate defeated Marvin Schaber and Blake Kasday by a score of 6-4 on court 3, then the Trojans' combo of Daniel Cukierman and Riley Smith — the nation's top-ranked doubles pairing — took down Holmgren and David Norfeldt 6-4 on court 1.

"We came out a bit nervous in doubles which ultimately decided that point," Keckley said of his team's performance in doubles play. "You can't play from behind against a team of their caliber."

Trailing 1-0 in the match heading into singles play, San Diego was able to answer back with two points of their own. Freshman Blake Kasday led the way for the Toreros with the match's first singles point, a 6-3, 6-1 decision on court 6 that evened the score at one point apiece and marked his first singles victory in a San Diego uniform.

"Blake got us on the board early at the 6 spot," said Keckley. "It was his first singles win as a Torero and no one deserves it more than him."

The Toreros then fell behind again after USC's Bradley Frye defeated Sacchitt Sharrma 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 on court 3, followed by a 7-5, 6-4 decision on court 5 that saw the Trojans' Jake Sands defeat Marvin Schaber.

Holmgren provided the highlight of the match on court 1 after Schaber's loss, finalizing an upset victory of the country's No. 1-ranked singles player Daniel Cukierman by scores of 6-0, 2-6, 6-0, but it wouldn't be enough.

"August got us back on track to even the match score 2-2 with a decisive third set win against a top player in the nation," the sixth-year head coach said of Holmgren's win over No. 1 Cukierman. "He continues to be a rock at the one position and brings an extraordinary amount of energy to the team."

Nico Borter lost a hard-fought match on court 2 to No. 19 Riley Smith by a 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 margin, then David Norfeldt fell to Lodewijk Weststrate on court 4 by scores of 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 to make the 5-2 loss to USC final.

"With the match tied at 2-2, we were unable to execute the big moments to seize our chances," Keckley added. "Each week we are getting better at handling these points and today was a step in the right direction for this squad."

San Diego is back in action at the Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center on Friday, March 19 at 12:30 p.m. when it takes on conference foe San Francisco.

RESULTS:
Doubles
1. #1 Daniel Cukierman/Riley Smith (USC) def. August Holmgren/David Norfeldt (USD) 6-4
2. Stefan Dostanic/Bradley Frye (USC) def. Nico Borter/Sacchitt Sharrma (USD) 4-4 (DNF)
3. Jake Sands/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Marvin Schaber/Blake Kasday (USD) 6-4

Singles
1. August Holmgren (USD) def. #1 Daniel Cukierman (USC) 6-2, 2-6, 6-0
2. #19 Riley Smith (USC) def. Nico Borter (USD) 7-6 (7-5), 7-5
3. Bradley Frye (USC) def. Sacchitt Sharrma (USD) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
4. Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. David Norfeldt (USD) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
5. Jake Sands (USC) def. Marvin Schaber (USD) 7-5, 6-4
6. Blake Kasday (USD) def. Sean Holt (USC) 6-3, 6-1

Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (6,3,5,1,2,4)