The USC Men racked up another win this morning, beating Illinois 4-0 and will face Duke in the quarter finals on sunday at 12:00 EST. The Trojans now 30-1 started things off with tough wins at #1 & #2 doubles with each match went 8-6 and the #3 team lost 8-4, before the others were done. Now up 1-0 the teams turned to singles were the trojans had straight set wins at #4, #2 and #1 positions, sending Illinois packing.

Some interesting quotes and a recap of the day---NCAA Championships Day 2 Recap

USC Head Coach Peter Smith
On being challenged with doubles play...
"I was really happy it was close. We’re down 7-2, 7-3 and then we come back and we lose 8-6 at court 3 and all of those things. We need experiences playing in tough situations, and they gave it to us in doubles."

On singles play...
"We thought we had some really good matchups. That’s as good as I’ve seen (Ray Sarmiento) play all year. And (Steve Johnson) was Stevie. Stevie gets going and it’s a train that’s hard to get out of the way."

"When its on three courts, everything is amplified. Its like a dual match squared. Momentum swings are greater. The call at the end of the match swung the momentum in our favor. Stevie has been in that situation. He’s not uncomfortable, that’s for sure."

On senior Steve Johnson...
"Someone yelled from the stands "He doesn’t want it." Not Steve Johnson. Steve Johnson wants it as much as everyone I’ve ever met. He’s a competitor. And a competitor wants a challenge. If someone is going to give hm a challenge, he’s going to rise to it. He’s pretty special. He’s a talented kid and a talented competitor."

2012 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS (Dennis Magill Tennis Complex - Athens, Ga.)

Round of 16 - May 18

[1] USC 4, Illinois 0

DOUBLES

(1) #2 S. Johnson/Quiroz (USC) def. #21 Kalmanovich/Nevolo (ILL) - 8-6

(2) #35 Nguyen/Sarmiento (USC) def. Guignon/Kopinski (ILL) - 8-6

(3) Gosea/Hoh (ILL) def. Gomez/Hanfmann (USC) - 8-4

USC wins doubles point.

Order of finish: 3, 2, 1

SINGLES

(1) #1 Steve Johnson (USC) def. #7 Dennis Nevolo (ILL) - 6-4, 6-3*

(2) #25 Ray Sarmiento (USC) def. #31 Roy Kalmanovich (ILL) - 6-3, 6-3

(3) #21 Daniel Nguyen (USC) vs. Bruno Abdelnour (ILL) - 6-4, 1-4 susp.

(4) #57 Emilio Gomez (USC) def. Tim Kopinski (ILL) - 6-0, 6-3

(5) #51 Yannick Hanfmann (USC) vs. Stephen Hoh (ILL) - 6-2, 5-3 susp.

(6) Roberto Quiroz (USC) vs. Ross Guignon (ILL) - 7-5, 4-1 susp.

Order of finish: 4, 2, 1