June 20, 2011

The USC men's tennis team's knockout season in 2011 has the Trojans gripping their third consecutive NCAA Team Championship and junior Steve Johnson standing tall as the NCAA Singles Champion. The powerful season effort by USC has four Trojans finishing out the year ranked in the top-50 on the ITA singles list and two Trojan doubles teams also in the mix. Johnson also is joined on the All-America list this season by freshman Ray Sarmiento.

NCAA champ, ITA National Player of the Year (http://www.usctrojans.com/sports/m-tennis/spec-rel/060911aaa.html) and Pac-10 Player of the Year Steve Johnson deservedly sits atop them all, ranked No. 1 in the nation at the close of his junior campaign, having also picked up his fifth selection as an ITA All-American. Johnson combines this year's 2011 ITA All-America singles honors with singles and doubles selections in 2009 and 2010. He also has three Trojan teammates also clumped comfortably in the top-50, including newly crowned ITA All-American Ray Sarmiento.

Sarmiento secured his All-America status by reaching the NCAA Singles Round of 16 in his freshman campaign. He finishes out the year ranked No. 38 in the nation in singles as well as No. 32 in the land in doubles with Johnson. Sarmiento is just a step ahead of two Trojan teammates on the singles list. Junior Daniel Nguyen -- clincher of the NCAA Team Championship for the second straight season -- ranked No. 40. Senior Jaak Poldma wraps up his Trojan career ranked No. 41 in the nation for singles, going along with a No. 17 ranking in doubles with teammate JT Sundling. Those are both the highest final rankings of Poldma's career. The 2011 team captain entered his senior season ranked No. 89 in singles before propelling himself to No. 41 and helping USC bring home its third straight NCAA title.

Final USC records/results: http://www.usctrojans.com/photos/schools/usc/sports/m-tennis/auto_pdf/2011mtenrecords.pdf