LOS ANGELES – The No. 78 University of Hawai'i men's tennis team got three stellar performances in singles play, but it wasn't enough as the Warriors fell to No. 7 USC, 4-3, Tuesday at Marks Stadium. The Trojans improved to 19-4 overall with their seventh straight win, while the Warriors saw its modest two-match win streak snapped as they fell to 5-8.

 

USC secured the win by taking the first four points of the match, but UH nabbed the final three singles matchups, all over ranked opponents and highlighted by a monumental win by Dennis Lajola at the No. 1 court. Lajola, ranked 89^th nationally, took down No. 4 Robert Farah 4-6, 6-4, (10-4). Lajola has now defeated the top-seeded players from four Pac 10 powers—Arizona, California, UCLA and USC.

 

USC sewed up the doubles point with a clean sweep of three matches. That momentum generated a singles surge that carried the Trojans quickly to victory. USC pinned up three straight singles wins to clinch the match but UH finished strong with Lajola's win and pair of tiebreaker wins by Andreas Weber and Sascha Heinemann. Heinemann defeated No. 63 Steve Johnson 3-6, 7-5, (10-4) to register a UH point at the No. 4 court. It was the seventh straight singles win for the senior. At the No. 3 slot, Weber fought off No. 84 Abdullah Magdas for a 6-2, 6-7, (10-6) victory.

 

The Warriors conclude its regular season in Boise, Idaho for a trio of Western Athletic Conference matches this weekend. UH takes on New Mexico State and Boise State on Friday, April 17, before facing Nevada on Saturday, April 18. The team will then return to Honolulu to host the WAC Championship, April 23-26 at the UH Tennis Complex.

 

1. No. 2 Farah/Johnson (USC) def. Fitch/Rosenberg (UH) 8-5

2. Magdas/Nguyen (USC) def. Lajola/Weber (UH) – 8-1

3. Kells/Poldma (USC) def. Faulk/Heineman (UH) – 8-6

 

1. No. 89 Dennis Lajola (UH) def. No. 4 Robert Farah (USC)

2.  No. 81 Jaak Poldma (USC) def. Leo Rosenberg (UH) 6-3, 6-1

3.  Andreas Weber (UH) def. No. 84 Abdullah Magdas (USC) 6-2, 6-7, (10-6)

4.  Sascha Heinemann (UH) def. No. 63 Steve Johnson (USC) 3-6, 7-5, (10-4)

5.  Jason McNaughton (USC) def. Jeff Fitch (UH) 6-2, 6-1

6.  Daniel Nguyen (USC) def. Philipp Eberhard (UH) 6-0, 6-0