USC Hands Stanford Tennis Team First Loss

USC, getting key performances from Antony Emerson and freshman Eric Amend, handed No. 1-ranked Stanford its first loss of the season, 5-4, Friday in a Pacific 10 tennis match at Stanford.

Emerson won his No. 6 singles match over Pat McEnroe, 6-4, 6-7, 7-5, and then teamed with Ric Bengtson to clinch the victory for the Trojans with a 7-6, 3-6, 6-4 win over McEnroe and Derrick Rostagno in No. 3 doubles.

The teams were tied at 4-4 and the match was deadlocked at 4-4 in the third set when Emerson and Bengtson broke McEnroe’s serve and then held serve to win.

Amend, replacing the injured Tim Pawsat, defeated John Letts, 6-4, 6-1, in No. 5 singles as the Trojans (26-2) rallied after Stanford won the first three singles matches.

The victory left USC and Stanford tied for second place in the conference standings with 5-1 records. UCLA, which defeated California, 6-3, and meets Stanford today, is on top with a 6-0 mark.