Bulls Knock Off No. 1 Seed and Return to Conference Championship
DALLAS (APRIL 21, 2018) – Outstanding teamwork in doubles and significant singles performances helped the Bulls surge past top-seeded Memphis, 4-3, in the American Athletic Conference Championship semifinals Saturday at Turpin Stadium.
In Sunday's championship match, USF will be chasing after its fifth consecutive conference tournament title. The Bulls have been the only champions since The American's first conference tournament.
A stunning finish by sophomore
Pierre Luquet (Draguignan, France) sent USF to Sunday's title match. With lots on the line, Luquet show great determination while clinching a victory in the No. 4 singles spot with a 6-4, 7-6 win over Chris Patzanovsky.
Senior
Grayson Goldin (Bradenton, Fla.) also boosted the Bulls on court 3 with a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 win over Kai Lemke.
Jakub Wojcik (Delray Beach) won his singles match for the second day in a row, defeating Memphis's Felix Rauch, 6-2, 6-4, on court 5.
At the No. 1 doubles spot, No. 87-ranked
Alberto Barroso-Campos (Montijo, Spain) and Goldin defeated the team of No. 38 Ryan Peniston and Andrew Watson, 6-3, to clinch doubles point for the Bulls.
Wojcik and
Peter Bertran (Santiago, Dominican Republic) gave the Bulls the advantage in doubles with a 6-4 victory on court 2.
Quotable:
Head coach Ashley Fisher on the match…
"A lot of people were surprised by today's result, but no one that has anything to do with USF men's tennis. We have always known that when we leave it out there as a team and embrace big moments, anything is possible.
Pierre Luquet grew up in front of my eyes today and we got inspiring performances from Grayson and Kuba. We played the best doubles point of the season and maintained an incredible level of energy and passion throughout the match. I couldn't be any prouder of this group than I am right now".
Up Next:
The Bulls will continue the pursuit of their fifth straight American Athletic Conference title in the championship match Sunday at 1 p.m. (EST) against the No. 2 Tulane-No. 3 UCF winner of Saturday's other semifinal.
Results(PDF):
Results:
Singles competition
1. Ryan Peniston (Memphis) def. #67 Alberto Barroso-Camp (USF) 7-5, 6-4
2. Andrew Watson (Memphis) def.
Peter Bertran (USF) 6-3, 6-4
3.
Grayson Goldin (USF) def. Kai Lemke (Memphis) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
4.
Pierre Luquet (USF) def. Chris Patzanvsky (Memphis) 6-4, 7-6(0)
5.
Jakub Wojcik (USF) def. Felix Rauch (Memphis) 6-2, 6-4
6. Jan Pallares (Memphis) def.
Sean Burnette (USF) 6-2, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #87 Alberto Barroso-Camp/
Grayson Goldin (USF) def Ryan Peniston/Andrew Watson (Memphis) 6-3
2.
Peter Bertran/
Jakub Wojcik (USF) def. Kai Lemke/Felix Rauch (Memphis) 6-2
3.
Sean Burnette/
Pierre Luquet vs. Matt Story/Jan Pallares (Memphis) unfinshed
Order of finish: Singles (6,5,2,1,3,4) Doubles (2,1)
Be sure to follow USF men's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
Head coach Ashley Fisher will begin his second year at the helm of the program for the 2018 season after leading the Bulls to a conference championship and the NCAA tournament in his first year as head coach during the 2017 season. The USF men's tennis program has won four consecutive American Athletic Conference Championships and advanced to four straight NCAA tournaments.
– #GoBulls –
