Feb. 25, 2000

Louisville, Ky -- 19th-ranked USC men's tennis (6-4, 2-1 Pac-10) dropped the first and second round matches at the USTA/ITA Men's Team Indoor Championships at the Louisville Tennis Club in Louisville, Ky. Hosted by the University of Kentucky, the nation's premier indoor tournament hosts 16 of the top men's teams in the country.

Throughout the tournament matches, teams have used an experimental format in deciding match tie-breakers where a tie-breaker - first to 10, win by two - is played in place of a third set.

The Trojans faced No. 1 Louisiana State in the first round of play on Thursday, Feb. 24. USC fell just one point short of the win, falling to the Tigers, 4-3, in an extremely close match. In doubles competition, No. 4 Nicholas Rainey and Ryan Moore were upset by Michal Chmela and Dan Kiernan of LSU, 8-3, marking the duo's first loss of the season. Patrick Gottesleben and Daniel Langre earned the Trojans' only doubles win with a 8-6 victory over Tom Hand and Ed Rubin. USC and Louisiana State split singles victories as the Trojans garnered wins at the No. 1, 4 and 5 positions, while taking advantage of the experimental format in two of the contests.

With the loss to the Tigers, USC continued in the consolation round of the tournament, facing No. 11 Baylor on Friday, Feb. 25. The match-up was equally tough for the Trojans who saw four matches decided in the third set tie-breaker, but eventually fell to the Bears, 4-2. Rainey and Moore returned to defeat David Hodge and Mark Williams, 8-3, for USC's lone doubles win. In singles, Patrick Gottesleben and Daniel Langre remained undefeated in tournament play with victories at No. 1 and 5. Rainey never played his match against Baylor's Dan Kiernan at the No. 4 position.

USC will prepare to face No. 16 Georgia in the final match of the tournament tomorrow, Feb. 26, at 9 a.m. The match will decide 13th place.

Round 1 - LSU 4, USC 3 Singles
(1) Patrick Gottesleben (USC) def. Michal Chmela (LSU) - 4-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-5)
(2) Tom Hand (LSU) def. Ryan Moore (USC) - 6-3, 6-4
(3) Ed Rubin (LSU) def. Andrew Park (USC) - 6-4, 7-5
(4) Nicholas Rainey (USC) def. Dan Kiernan (LSU) - 2-6, 6-2, 1-0 (10-8)
(5) Daniel Langre (USC) def. Jesse Smatt (LSU) - 6-4, 6-2
(6) Ajay Ramaswami (LSU) def. Parker Collins (USC) - 7-5, 6-3

Doubles
(1) Chmela/Kiernan (LSU) def. Moore/Rainey (USC) - 8-3
(2) Gottesleben/Langre (USC) def. Hand/Rubin (LSU) - 8-6
(3) Smatt/Ramaswami (LSU) def. Collins/Park (USC) - 8-5

Round 2 - Baylor 4, USC 2 Singles
(1) Patrick Gottesleben (USC) def. Johann Jooste (BU) - 6-3, 6-2
(2) David Hodge (BU) def. Ryan Moore (USC) - 6-1, 2-6, 1-0 (11-9)
(3) Pawel Gajdzik (BU) def. Andrew Park (USC) - 2-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-7)
(4) Nicholas Rainey (USC) vs. Zoltan Papp (BU) - did not play
(5) Daniel Langre (USC) def. Mark Williams (BU) - 3-6, 6-1, 1-0 (10-6)
(6) Sean O'Connor (BU) def. Parker Collins (USC) - 6-2, 4-6, 1-0 (10-4)

Doubles
(1) Moore/Rainey (USC) def. Hodge/Williams (BU) - 8-3
(2) Gajdik/Jooste (BU) def. Gottesleben/Langre (USC) - 8-5
(3) Csongor Bibza/Johannes Michalsky (BU) def. Collins/Park (USC) - 8-2