Tennis Season Ends in Norman

Friday, May 1

Norman, Okla.

2 p.m.

Duke University

University of Southern California

The Duke men's tennis team opened the 2026 NCAA Team Championship with Southern California in Norman, Oklahoma.

Photo by: Chad Hamilton

Tennis Season Ends in Norman

5/1/2026 5:34:00 PM | Men's Tennis

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NORMAN, Okla. – The Duke men's tennis team fought back from a 1-0 deficit to take a 2-1 lead, but it was not enough as No. 21 Southern California came back for a 4-2 victory Friday afternoon in the opening round of the NCAA Team Championship.

The Blue Devils dropped a tightly contested doubles point before taking the first two singles decisions, only to have the Trojans earn the final three and advance to the second round.

No. 40 Duke finishes its season at 15-14.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Duke earned the first doubles victory with a late break, but the Trojans picked up a late break in the other two matches to secure the point.
On court three, Dylan Long and Teddy Truwit fought past Sklar Phillips and Jack McCarthy, 6-3. With the set even at 1-1, 2-2 and 3-3, Duke went on a hold, break and hold run to end it. The Blue Devil pair won deuce points to take 4-3 and 5-3 advantages and secure the victory.
In the second slot, USC bounced back as Andrin Casanova and Branko Djuric defeated Alexander Visser and Gerard Planelles Ripoll, 6-4. After falling behind 3-1, the USC duo held, broke and held to take a 4-3 advantage. Duke clawed back and won a deuce point to make it a 4-4 tie before the Trojan two held and broke to end the match.
The top court had the No. 10 pair of Cooper Williams and Pedro Rodenas fall 7-5 to No. 51 Max Exsted and Nathan Trouve. The sides were even and on serve at 1-1, 2-2, 3-3, 4-4 and 5-5 before the Trojans held and broke for the win.
Duke evened the match at 1-1 as Planelles Ripoll topped No. 79 Exsted on court three, 6-2, 6-1. Planelles Ripoll took 4-0 leads in both sets and never looked back. He improved to 13-7 in dual competition.
Williams put the Blue Devils in front 2-1 as he clawed past No. 66 Trouve, 6-2, 7-6 (4) on court two. No. 54 Williams flipped a 2-2 tie into a four-game winning streak to take the first set. In the second, Trouve mounted 4-1 and 5-2 leads before Williams stormed back and tied the set at 6-6. In the tiebreaker, the two were even at 3-3 before Williams snuck ahead 5-3. Trouve got it to 6-4, but Williams picked up the final point for the match. Williams upped his record to 17-6 in dual action, including a 14-2 ledger on court two.
The Trojans evened the score at 2-2 on court one, where No. 84 Djuric slipped past No. 48 Rodenas, 7-6 (8), 6-4. With a 2-2 tie in the first set, Rodenas hopped ahead 4-2. Djuric came back and evened the set at 4-4. It was tied at 5-5 and 6-6 before heading to the tiebreaker. Rodenas turned a 1-1 tie into a 4-1 advantage in the tiebreaker before Djuric forced a 6-6 tie. The two were even again at 7-7 before Rodenas took an 8-7 lead, only to have Djuric take the final three points. The second set was knotted at 1-1 and 2-2 before Djuric took a 4-2 advantage. Rodenas was never able to force another tie as Djuric held on for the match.
USC took a 3-2 lead with Connor Church topping Saahith Jayaraman 7-5, 1-6, 6-1 on court six. Jayaraman led 4-1 and 5-3 in the opening set before Church ran off four consecutive games. Jayaraman bounced right back and breezed through the second set before Church answered with the final set.
The match was decided on court five, where McCarthy fought past Long, 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (4). Long bounced back in the second set and won four consecutive games to break a 2-2 tie and force a third set. In the deciding set, the two were never separated by more than a game and headed to the tiebreaker. Long trailed 5-4 in the tiebreaker before McCarthy tallied the final two points for the match.

RESULTS
Doubles (3,2,1)
1. #51 Max Exsted/Nathan Trouve (USC) def. #10 Pedro Rodenas/Cooper Williams (DU) 7-5
2. Andrin Casanova/Branko Djuric (USC) def. Gerard Planelles Ripoll/Alexander Visser (DU) 6-4
3. Dylan Long/Teddy Truwit (DU) def. Sklar Phillips/Jack McCarthy (USC) 6-3

Singles (3,2,1,6,5)
1. #84 Branko Djuric (USC) def. #48 Pedro Rodenas (DU) 7-6 (10-8), 6-4
2. #54 Cooper Williams (DU) def. #66 Nathan Trouve (USC) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)
3. Gerard Planelles Ripoll (DU) def. #79 Max Exsted (USC) 6-2, 6-1
4. Andrin Casanova (USC) vs. Alexander Visser (DU) 7-5, 6-6 (5-5) unfinished
5. Jack McCarthy (USC) def. Dylan Long (DU) 6-1, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4)
6. Connor Church (USC) def. Saahith Jayaraman (DU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-1

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