March 16, 2003

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. - In a match played on neutral territory, the No. 16 USC men's tennis team defeated Princeton, 5-2, on Sunday afternoon. The match was played at the Indian Wells Tennis Resort in Palm Springs, Calif., taking place prior to the men's and women's singles finals of the Pacific Life Open.

With the win, the Trojans improve to 9-5 overall, while the visiting Tigers drops to 9-4.

USC began the afternoon by sweeping all three doubles matches to earn the first point. With a different set of doubles pairings, the Trojans' most notable win came at center court where Prakash Amritraj and Jeff Kazarian upset Princeton's 31st-ranked Josh Burman and Trevor Smith, 9-8.

In singles, USC withstood Princeton wins at the No. 5 and 6 positions by clinching victories at courts two, three and four to ensure the match victory with a 4-2 lead. Among the wins, Daniel Langre beat Burman, 6-1, 7-6, Ruben Torres defeated Darius Craton, 7-6, 6-1, and Parker Collins posted a 6-1, 6-1 decision over Hans Plukas.

With Amritraj sitting out singles, Johan Berg moved up to the No. 1 position and managed to defeat Princeton's Smith with a come-from-behind effort, 6-7, 7-5, 6-4, for USC's final point.

USC's next match-up will be this Saturday, March 22, when the Trojans host Utah at 10 a.m. at Marks Tennis Stadium.

#16 USC 5, Princeton 2

Doubles
(1) Prakash Amritraj/Kazarian (USC) def. #31 Burman/Smith (Princeton) - 9-8
(2) Collins/Langre (USC) def. Craton/Friedman (Princeton) - 8-5
(3) Berg/Torres (USC) def. Plukas/Kofol (Princeton) - 8-4
USC wins doubles point.

Singles
(1) #71 Johan Berg (USC) def. Trevor Smith (Princeton) - 6-7, 7-5, 6-4
(2) Daniel Langre (USC) def. Josh Burman (Princeton) - 6-1, 7-6
(3) Ruben Torres (USC) def. Darius Craton (Princeton) - 7-6, 6-1
(4) Parker Collins (USC) def. Hans Plukas (Princeton) - 6-1, 6-1
(5) Daniel Friedman (Princeton) def. Jeff Kazarian (USC) - 6-0, 6-0
(6) Andrew Lieu (Princeton) def. Scott Patterson (USC) - 6-1, 6-4