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USC's Steve Johnson Wins Second Straight NCAA Men's Tennis Singles Title

The win was USC's 20th men's tennis national championship in school history.

By Ronald Clark
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 26: The USC Trojans band performs after the game with the UCLA Bruins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 26: The USC Trojans band performs after the game with the UCLA Bruins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 26, 2011 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Getty Images

The USC men's tennis team dynasty added its 4th straight NCAA tennis title last week. But this is about the best player on that team, senior Steve Johnson, who won his second straight NCAA singles title after defeating Kentucky's Eric Quigley, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday.

Johnson finished the season 32-0 and ended his career on a 72-match win streak. It goes without saying that he was the no. 1 seed in this year's tournament.

Johnson's win over Quigley came on the heels of Sunday's semifinal win over Stanford's Bradley Klahn, the 2010 singles champion. Johnson won in straight sets.

USC defeated Virginia in last week's team final as Johnson became the first men's singles champion to help his school win four straight team titles.

"I came back to win four and I don't think there was ever a doubt in my mind that I was going to come back, or anybody here," said Johnson after last week's win. "But to do it with this group of guys, they're such a special group and to be able to mentor these young freshmen, even though some days were worse than others, but today was one of the better days and these guys are going to carry on the legacy in the next four years. I'm excited to watch them grow."