Jensen Wins Match of Nervous Freshmen in USC’s 6-2 Victory

The latest meeting in the long USC-UCLA men’s tennis rivalry was highlighted by a hard-fought match between two nervous freshman at No. 6 singles. This time, USC’s Murphy Jensen handled the pressure more successfully as he defeated Giora Payes, 5-7, 7-5, 7-6, leading the Trojans to a 6-2 victory Saturday at UCLA’s L.A. Tennis Center.

Jensen’s win gave No. 2-ranked USC a 5-1 lead after the completion of the singles, rendering the doubles matches meaningless. The other winners, in straight sets, for USC included No. 1 singles Scott Melville, No. 2 John Carras, No. 3 Byron Black and No. 5 Scott Brownsberger.

UCLA, which is ranked No. 9, got its points with victories at No. 4 singles and No. 2 doubles. USC won in straight sets at No. 1 doubles, while No. 3 doubles was not played.

“It wasn’t a pretty win,” said USC Coach Dick Leach. “I’d have to say it was one of the ugliest matches we’ve ever seen at No. 6 singles.”

Either way, Jensen wasn’t complaining after he had fought off a handful of match points. In addition to squandering the match points, Payes got cramps in his legs late in the third set, which hindered his movement.

“You could say part of the reason he lost was because of the cramps,” said Jensen. “But he had seven match points. On paper, you never expect to come back and win the match.”