2012 USC Men's Tennis

2012 USC ME PETER SMITH Peter Smith, who has guided the Trojans to three straight NCAA Championships in the past three seasons, now enters his 10th season as head coach of the Trojan men's tennis program. Named the 2011 Pac-10 Coach of the Year after leading the Trojans to their first undefeated conference season since 1987, Smith has compiled a 449-196 (.696) career coaching record and is 179-61 (.746) at USC, which leads the nation with 19 national men's tennis team titles. The 2011 USPTA National College Coach of the Year, Smith and his Trojans have been collecting NCAA trophies as of late, recently claiming their third consecutive national championship in 2011. Following a perfect 6-0 mark in Pac-10 play, including USC's first conference win over UCLA in seven seasons, the Trojans went on a 20-match win streak to close out the year on top again. USC was a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament and beat top seed Virgina 4-3 in the final. Smith would then see his top gun, Steve Johnson, keep rolling and win the 2011 NCAA Singles Championship a week later. The previous year, Smith and the Trojans had managed a repeat, this time standing as the No. 5 seed and upsetting the top-seeded Cavaliers before taking down No. 2 Tennessee 4-2 in the title match. Also holding a share of the Pac-10 championship, USC finished 25-3 overall in 2010 on the way to claiming back-to-back national championships for the first time since 1993-94. the 2010 ITA National Coach of the Year to go along with Pac-10 and ITA West Regional Coach of the Year honors. In 2009, Smith guided the Trojans through a historic run. USC finished second in the Pac-10, but gained momentum for its fourth straight NCAA appearance as the No. 8 seed. The Trojans upset top-seeded Virginia in the quarterfinals and went on to upset No. 3 seed Ohio State to win the NCAA Championship — Smith's first as a head coach and USC's 17th team tennis title — to finish 25-5 overall on the season. Year School In 2008, Smith's Trojans reached the NCAA Quarterfinals and went 22-5 overall. His doubles team of Robert Farah and Kaes Van't Hof won USC's 21st NCAA doubles title in 2008, in addition to the Pac-10 Doubles Championship. Smith was named head coach of the USC men's tennis team in June of 2002, becoming only the fifth head coach in Trojan tennis history. His 24-year career includes coaching at Pepperdine, Fresno State and Long Beach State. Once at Troy, Smith extended his streak of sending teams to the NCAA Tournament to 12 consecutive seasons, as the Trojans reached the NCAA Second Round in his first season, the semifinals in 2004, and the second round again in 2005. In 2006, USC missed the postseason with an 8-14 record. In 2007, USC reemerged on the NCAA scene, racking up its best program start since 1987 with an 11-0 record on the way to a second-place finish in the Pac-10 (6-1) and a trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals to finish 23-3 overall. It was the biggest turnaround in USC history, and the mark stands out as the fewest losses sustained since USC went 22-3 in 1994, when the Trojans won their 15th NCAA title. Smith was named the Pac-10 Coach of the Year and ITA West Region Coach of the Year in 2007. Smith is the only men's tennis coach ever to lead four different men's programs to national top-25 rankings and is one of only two coaches to guide three different schools to the NCAA quarterfinals and top-5 national rankings (USC, Pepperdine and Fresno State). In 2002, Smith left Pepperdine following a 25-6 season SMITH'S CAREER COACHING RECORD W L Pct. NCAA Finish 1988 Long Beach State 9 11 .450 — 1989 Long Beach State 15 11 .577 — 1990 Long Beach State 11 14 .440 — 1991 Long Beach State 15 11 .577 — 1992 Fresno State 1993 Fresno State 1994 Fresno State 1995 Fresno State 1996 Fresno State 1997 Fresno State 1998 Pepperdine 1999 Pepperdine 2000 Pepperdine 2001 Pepperdine 2002 Pepperdine 2003 USC 2004 USC 2005 USC 2006 USC 2007 USC 2008 USC 2009 USC 2010 USC 2011 USC Career Record 13 9 .591 — 13 11 .542 — 20 8 .714 NCAA Round of 16 16 12 .571 NCAA Round of 16 23 5 .892 NCAA Quarterfinals 17 12 .586 NCAA Round of 16 27 6 .818 NCAA Quarterfinals 23 8 .742 NCAA Second Round 24 3 .889 NCAA Second Round 19 8 .704 NCAA Round of 16 25 6 .806 NCAA Quarterfinals 14 12 .538 NCAA Second Round 23 4 .852 NCAA Semifinals 12 13 .480 NCAA Second Round 8 14 .364 — 23 3 .885 NCAA Quarterfinals 22 5 .815 NCAA Quarterfinals 25 5 .833 NCAA Champions 25 3 .893 NCAA Champions 27 2 .931 NCAA Champions 449 196 .696 24 seasons USC — 179-61 (.746), 9 seasons Final Ranking — t-No. 25 — — — — No. 29 No. 20 No. 6 No. 29 No. 9 No. 20 No. 11 No. 18 No. 5 No. 22 No. 4 No. 21 No. 54 No. 9 No. 7 No. 1 No. 1 No. 2 Long Beach State — 50-47 (.515), 4 seasons Fresno State — 102-57 (.642), 6 seasons Pepperdine — 118-31 (.792), 5 seasons • 2 • CAREER HIGHLIGHTS • 2009, 2010 & 2011 NCAA Team Champion • 2010 ITA National Coach of the Year • 2004, 2007, 2010 & 2011 Pac-10 Coach of the Year • 2007 & 2010 ITA Region Coach of the Year • 449-196 (.696) Career Record • 10 Conference Championships • 10-Time Conference Coach of the Year • Five-Time ITA Region Coach of the Year • 13 Top-20 Finishes • 17 NCAA Appearances 3 STRAIGHT NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS • 2010 ITA NATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR HEAD COACH • 10th SEASON 449-196 OVERALL • 179-61 aT USC 4-TIME Pac-10 COACH OF THE YEAR in which he led the Waves to the NCAA quarterfinals and a final No. 5 national ranking. He had earned his fifth straight West Coast Conference Coach of the Year honor and was tabbed the ITA West Region Coach of the Year for the second time in three years (also won in 2000). In five years at Pepperdine (1998-2002), Smith compiled a 118-31 (.792) dual match record and finished in the Top 20 every year. The Waves won the WCC title and advanced to at least the NCAA Second Round each season. He coached eight All-Americans while at Pepperdine (Robert Lindstedt, Kelly Gullett, John Hui, Anthony Ross, Robert Kendrick, Stefan Sutter, Sebastien Graeff and Al Garland), coaching Gullett and Lindstedt to the 1998 NCAA doubles final and Garland to a No. 1 national singles ranking during the 2002 season. Smith spent six seasons (1992-97) as men's head coach at Fresno State, transforming the Bulldogs into a top-20 program. His record there was 102-57 (.642) as he led the Bulldogs to their first-ever NCAA tourney in 1994 and coached the program's first-ever All-American (Fredrik Bergh) in 1995. In all, he guided the Bulldogs into the NCAAs in his last four seasons and coached four All-Americans (Gullett, who followed him to Pepperdine, Bergh, Fredrik Giers and Robert Lindstedt). Smith enjoyed his greatest success at Fresno State in 1996 when the team won its first Western Athletic Conference title, posted a 23-5 dual match record (the best in school history) and earned its third straight NCAA berth with a No. 6 national ranking. That season, he was named ITA Region VII and WAC Coach of the Year. Smith, who has been named conference coach of the year 10 times during his career, was the only men's coach to take two different schools to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championships in the 1990s — doing so at Fresno State in 1996 and Pepperdine in 1998. Additionally, Smith was the only men's coach whose teams did not lose a match in NCAA regional play (under the previous championship format). Smith is one of only two active coaches to have been head coach for two players who finished 2005 in the top 350 in the ATP Rankings — former USC star Prakash Amritraj and Pepperdine All-American Robert Kendrick. Smith, 47, earned a bachelor's degree in liberal studies (while coaching the men's tennis team) from Long Beach State in 1987 and was a four-year letter winner for the 49ers. After playing professionally for 15 months and competing in such prestigious events as the U.S. Open BACK-T O-BACK-T O-BACK NCAA CHAMPS • 19 NA TIONAL TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS • Coaching Staff

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