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Former PVHS Star Brandon Holt Pac-12 Player of the Year
The current No. 1 player at USC, junior Holt named to Pac-12 Conference first-team for third consecutive year
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The post-season awards continue to roll in for former Palos Verdes High School star tennis player and current USC junior Brandon Holt as he has been named the Pac-12 Player of the Year. Currently the No. 6 nationally ranked singles player in the nation, Holt led USC to its fourth Pac-12 Tournament title and the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
This Saturday at 2 p.m., USC (22-7) will square off against No. 9 seed North Carolina (20-6) in a
rematch of last year’s NCAA Round of 16 won by the Trojans. USC will be looking to stay undefeated all-time against the Tar Heels while seeking a ticket to Orlando, Fla., where the final eight NCAA teams advance to the USTA National Campus for the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship matches (May 16-19).
Holt was USC’s top singles player this year holding down a 19-5 record this season, 11 of those
wins coming against ranked opponents, and is currently on a 10-match win streak
with the Trojans.
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A three-time ITA All-American in singles, Holt is the sixth student-athlete to win both Pac-12 Freshman/Newcomer and Singles Player of the Year in their career, and only the second USC student-athlete to claim both honors (Yannick Hanfmann, 2011-15). The business major is the 11th Trojan to be honored with the Singles Player of the Year award.
Holt has earned an automatic qualifier and No. 6 seed in the NCAA singles tournament to be played after the team event in Orlando.
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Holt was named to the first-team All-Pac-12 Conference for the third consecutive year and was joined by teammate USC sophomore Daniel Cukierman on the first team and fellow Trojan and senior Laurens Verboven on the second team, while USC’s Tanner Smith was an honorable mention selection.