The USC Men’s and Women’s tennis teams have both locked top-five positions for the 2013 NCAA Tennis Championships that culminate in Urbana Illinois, which is slated to begin next week.

Both teams are hosting first and second rounds at Marks Stadium from May 10-12 in an effort to make return trips to the NCAA Round of 16. The Women of Troy (21-2) reached the NCAA Semi-Finals last season before losing to cross-town rival UCLA. The back-to-back Pac-12 champions will be the fifth seed in the bracket.

The USC Men (23-4) are the four-time defending champions who are looking to make history as the first five-time defending champions in school history. USC has quite the history of dominating men’s tennis, winners of 20 National Championships including championship titles in 7 of 8 seasons from 1962 to 1969 under legendary head coach George Toley.

May 24, 2011; Stanford, CA, USA; The Southern California Trojans celebrate after defeating the Virginia Cavaliers during the finals of the men

The men’s competition will run May 10 and 11, and women’s competition May 11 and 12 from Mark’s Tennis Stadium. In the men’s competition, a reunion of epic proportions takes place as former USC assistant coaches Brett Masi (San Diego) and George Husack (Alabama) will square in the first round. The winner of that tilt will face the winner of the Trojans and Sacramento State; both matches will take place on Friday.

The Sacramento State Hornets will be featured on both the men’s and women’s side, as they square with the Women of Troy on Saturday. In the other matchup, Northern California foes UC Irvine and San Jose State are set to battle in the Saturday morning affair.

The schedule will be rather hectic at Mark’s Tennis Stadium, but here is how the madness will shake out over the weekend:

2013 NCAA MEN’S TENNIS
Friday, May 10 – First Round
11 a.m. — No. 4 USC (23-4) vs. Sacramento State (17-12)
2 p.m. — San Diego (17-9) vs. Alabama (14-13)

Saturday, May 11 – Second Round
3 p.m. — Winners Matchup

2013 NCAA WOMEN’S TENNIS 
Saturday, May 11 – First Round
9 a.m. — UC Irvine (22-4) vs. San Jose State (19-5)
12 p.m. — No. 5 USC (21-2) vs. Sacramento State (13-13)

Sunday, May 12 – Second Round
12 p.m. — Winners Matchup

The first weekend of match ups should not pose that much of a threat for both squads so let’s take a look at some the expected Sweet 16 scenarios, which will be played in Urbana Illinois.

Men’s Draw:

1. UCLA Bruins (24-1)

The Trojans started off hot against UCLA, pulling out their first meeting 4-3, but have struggled after that impressive victory. They lost their next three tilts to finish the season on a skid. The last meeting between these two teams resulted in a 4-2 UCLA victory in the Pac-12 Championship.

2. Virginia (24-0) 

The Bruins may be the top seed but do not sleep on the Virginia Cavaliers, who also defeated USC earlier this season in the Championship Game of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. These two teams have bad blood between them, as the Trojans defeated Virginia last season to clinch their fourth-straight national championship.

3. Georgia (22-4)

The Georgia Bulldogs are the best squad of the SEC, and they will be quite the foe if the Trojans were to meet them in the National Championship. The Trojans defeated Georgia 4-1 the last time these two teams met, back when Steve Johnson and Daniel Nguyen were leading the squad.

5. Ohio State (31-2)  

The Ohio State Buckeyes are the prohibitive favorite to meet the Trojans in the Elite 8, if both teams are to reach that point. The last time these two teams met was in 2012 when the Trojans defeated the Buckeyes 4-3 in the ITA National Indoor Championships. Head Coach Ty Tucker’s squad lost to USC in the 2009 National Championship, propelling the first of four-straight titles.

Women’s Draw: 

1. Florida (22-2)

The Florida Gators earned the top seed in the tournament by steam rolling the competition in the vaunted SEC Tournament. The Gators defeated Georgia and Texas A&M in convincing fashion, after starting the tournament as a three-seed. They also defeated UNC 4-2 in a thrilling match, solidifying their place as the top-ranked team. If the chips fall their way, this squad could capture their second-straight National Title.

2. UNC (25-3)

The UNC Tar Heels rose from seemingly nowhere to the top spot in the rankings by notching some impressive victories throughout the season, until they were upset in the ACC Tournament by 6th-overall seed Miami. The Tar Heels defeated USC 4-3 in the quarterfinals of the ITA National Team Indoor Championships, giving USC their first loss of the season.

3. Texas A&M (21-3)

The Texas A&M Lady Aggies adjusted quite nicely to life in the SEC, finishing second in the ultra competitive conference. The Aggies went 1-1 versus top-ranked Florida this season, losing their most recent matchup in the SEC Semi-Final.

4. Georgia (21-3)

The Georgia Bulldogs entered the SEC Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the nation as winners of 16 of their last 17 games, before losing the championship game 4-0 at the hands of the red-hot Florida Gators. The Bulldogs lost to UCLA 4-1 and defeated Cal 4-1, squads that the Women of Troy went 2-1 against this season.

Aaron Fuller made his biggest contribution on the night with six seconds to play, as the Trojans survived 69-68 over Oregon State. J.T. Terrell kept his composure in the final seconds, making the game-winning assist to Aaron Fuller who sunk a layup for the victory.

Bob Cantu earned his first victory as USC Men’s Basketball Head Coach, after agonizingly watching his team blow a 15-point second half lead.

The Trojans came out firing early and often, playing lights-out basketball for most of the first half. USC jumped out to a 10-4 lead behind strong shooting from its most important players. Byron Wesley led the cause scoring a season-high 19 points, including 12 crucial first half points.

Aggressive play on both sides of the court, alongside a refreshing grace of ball movement made the Trojans play much more relaxed in the first half. To cap off the exciting half of action, James Blasczyk rebounded a miss shot and put back a monster slam dunk pushing the lead to eight.

The Trojans shot 51 percent from the field in the first half and more importantly only missed one free throw.  In somewhat of a surprising move, Omar Oraby got the start for USC but played ineffectively, committing two turnovers while also coming up very small on the boards during his 15 minutes of action.

USC followed up the Blasczyk dunk on a 7-0 run to open the second half, extending their lead to 46-31 with 18 minutes to play in the game. Oregon State fire back on a 17-2 run of their own, tying the game at 48.

The Beavers switch from man into a suffocating full-court pressure wreaked havoc on the USC Trojans offense. Jio Fontan suffered the most from the pressure, committing 10 turnovers in the contest, the most in his career.

Not only was Oregon State rugged, but they began to drive to the rack and score at will. Roberto Nelson carried the Beavers offense in the second half scoring 26 points on the night, including a perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.

The Trojans and Beavers began a grueling stretch with 3:44 to play featuring eight lead changes. Eric Wise played outstanding down the stretch for the Trojans scoring seven of his 19 total points in the final five minutes of action.

With 30 seconds to play down by one point, J.T. Terrell attempted to feed a bounce pass down low to Omar Oraby which sailed wide, turning the ball over to Oregon State. Luckily for the Trojans, Oregon State returned the favor when Wise stole the inbounds pass and scored to take the lead.

Burton played a strong game himself, scoring 16 points on 7-12 shooting from the field. The big man scored in a variety ways, including some awkward lay ups and hook shots that earned a nice laugh from the crowd.

Sophomore Guard Eric Moreland score three points in 27 minutes, way below his 10 PPG average off the bench. The typically high-flying Oregon State Beavers scored under 70 points for the second straight time, for shockingly only the second time this season.

The Trojans victory moves them into fifth place in the Pac-12 (8-11, 3-3), while the loss continues Oregon State’s grueling five-game losing streak leaving them winless in conference play (10-8, 0-5).

Oct 13, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; USC Trojans defensive end Leonard Williams (94) sacks Washington Huskies quarterback Keith Price (17) during the first half at CenturyLink Field. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

Late Tuesday night, USC announced the fate of freshmen DE Leonard Williams, who had been ejected from USC’s game against Colorado for throwing a punch at an opponent, an offense that is subject to further Pac-12 review to determine punishment, if necessary. Williams has been dangling over hot water since then, but it appears he no longer has a reason to sweat:

USC freshman DT Leonard Williams was not suspended by the PAC-12 Conference. He is available to play Saturday at Arizona.

— USC Trojans (@USC_Athletics) October 24, 2012

The university’s athletic department sent this tweet out around 8:30 p.m., indicating that Williams avoided a further penance. On Saturday, it was initially thought Williams would be automatically suspended for the flagrant foul but later determined that the conference would have to review it. In an interesting turn, Pac-12 officials declined to inflict a suspension beyond Williams’ ejection against Colorado.

Interesting, because based on past events, the Pac-12 has come down hard on USC for extremely minor offenses.

Last season, Trojan QB Matt Barkley was publicly reprimanded for comments he made about then-Arizona State Sun Devil Vontaze Burfict, who Barkley referred to as “a dirty player”. Later in the season, S T.J. McDonald had to serve a half-game suspension against Colorado for a hit he made on a Stanford wide receiver, a hit that many argued was fierce, but completely clean and legal. But Williams, who threw a punch in an unbecoming display of immaturity, avoids a fate similar or worse to those. In his defense, Williams claimed to have been spit on by the player that he attempted to punch.

Maybe the Pac-12 felt the need to closely monitor USC while it served their bowl ban and now that that shackle has been removed, the conference is taking its foot off the brake a bit. Whatever the reason, the Trojans are likely relieved to have Williams against Arizona, another game that is shaping up to be a tough road challenge.