Daniel Nguyen came through in the clutch and celebrated by clutching the championship trophy.
The former Santa Barbara High standout rallied from a set down to win the clinching match that gave USC a 4-2 victory over Tennessee in the NCAA men’s tennis team final Tuesday in Athens, Ga.
It was the second straight championship for Nguyen and the Trojans. USC last won back-to-back titles in 1993-94.
Nguyen, a sophomore, who also got the clincher in a 4-2 semifinal win over Virginia, lost a first-set tiebreaker against Tennys Sandgren at No. 4 singles, but he rebounded with a vengeance and dominated the next two sets to take the match 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-0 to secure the deciding point. It was his fifth straight victory in NCAA play, earning him tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.
“I told myself win or lose, I’m just going to play as hard as I can,” Nguyen told the Athens Banner Herald of his mindset after the first set. “I started to play more intense, play smarter and stayed positive.”
USC coach Peter Smith was impressed with Nguyen’s intestinal fortitude.
“It’s been over a month since he lost a set in a dual match,” Smith said. “For him to serve for the first set twice, lose it, lose the breaker and then come back to win 1 and 0. Are you kidding me?”
Last year, Nguyen won his singles match in the NCAA final to help the Trojans beat Ohio State for the championship.
After his clinching win against the Volunteers, Nguyen (38-6)carried the championship trophy into the post-match press conference and placed it on the table in front of him.
“I think I’m going to sleep with it tonight,” Nguyen said. “It’s definitely great to hold this trophy.”
