LOS ANGELES – The San Diego men's tennis program (1-1, 0-0 WCC) made a furious rally, but could not finish it off, falling 4-3 at No. 7 USC (3-0, 0-0 PAC-12) on Sunday evening at Marks Stadium.
 
"This is a really tough match to swallow tonight," said head coach Ryan Keckley. "I'm very proud of the boys' fight, unity and stamina throughout the course of the battle. We need to focus on playing the big moments on our terms better. We need to finish and not expect someone to finish for us. We talk a lot about this concept, but when you are really in the thick of it, it's hard to control. We have to take a look in the mirror and find a way to improve our focus and our composure as a team throughout the three hours of play in order to secure wins against top-10 teams."
 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The two sides matched up for the first time since last season's NCAA Tournament and resumed their tight battle from last year.
• USC took the doubles point with a pair of victories, but the Toreros were able to respond in singles.
• Despite a pair of quick wins for the Trojans at No. 2 and No. 3 singles, the Toreros began to mount a big rally.
• It started with another strong performance from Oliver Tarvet, who controlled his match from the start for a 6-2, 6-4 win.
• The remaining three matches each went to a third set, but the Toreros kept up the rally.
• Savriyan Danilov roared to a 5-0 start in the final set and held on for a 6-3 win to make it 3-2.
• Stian Klaassen also shined against his ranked opponent, building a 5-2 advantage in the third set.
• While his opponent got one break point back, it was not enough as Klaassen completed the victory to tie the match at 3-3.
• Ultimately, the Trojans got the final result, escaping with a 6-4 third set victory following a break point at 4-4.

 
NEXT UP

• The Toreros return home to host No. 13 Arizona on Friday, Feb. 2 at 12 p.m., at the Hogan Tennis Center.

 
RESULTS
San Diego 3, #7 USC 4
Doubles
No. 1 – Stefan Dostanic/Oscar Weightman (USC) def. No. 15 Stian Klaassen/Sacchitt Sharrma (San Diego) – 6-4
No. 2 – Oliver Tarvet/Iiro Vasa (San Diego) vs. Peter Makk/Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) – 5-4 (UF)
No. 3 – Volodymyr Iakubenko/Samuel Rubell (USC) def. Savriyan Danilov/Lambert Ruland (San Diego) – 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1
 
Singles
No. 1 – No. 8 Oliver Tarvet (San Diego) def. Stefan Dostanic (USC) – 6-2, 6-4
No. 2 – No. 39 Peter Makk (USC) def. No. 31 Iiro Vasa (San Diego) – 6-4, 6-0
No. 3 – No. 73 Lodewijk Weststrate (USC) def. Lambert Ruland (San Diego) – 6-1, 6-3
No. 4 – Savriyan Danilov (San Diego) def. Oscar Weightman (USC) – 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
No. 5 – Volodymyr Iakubenko (USC) def. Sacchitt Sharrma (San Diego) – 3-6, 7-5, 6-4
No. 6 – Stian Klaassen (San Diego) def. No. 94 Karl Lee (USC) – 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 1, 4, 6, 5
 
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