University of South Florida
Purdue
Injury Bug Hits Bulls on Final Day of Rice Invitational
March 27, 2006 | Men's Tennis
HOUSTON, Texas (March 26, 2006) ? USF men's tennis coach Don Barr knew it would be tough to field a squad of six players this season, but he didn't expect half the team to go down in one weekend.
On day one of the tournament against Texas Tech, junior Dirk Britzen pulled out of competition do to a back injury.
The next day, senior Juan Barragan was advised not to continue to play because of a sore shoulder.
On the final day, the Bulls found themselves with four players against a tough Purdue team.
The game plan for USF was to win the doubles point and go into singles competition with a one point advantage because the team knew senior Federico Barton was unable to compete in singles competition because of a nagging injury suffered earlier.
Sophomores Marc Jaeger and Dillon Brozyna stepped up for their teammates and defeated Eric Hodgeman and Kelubia Mabatah at the No. 1 doubles spot, 8-4.
At the No. 2 doubles, Barton and Marky Gattiker took Colin Foster and Kurt Zaske down to the wire, ultimately losing in a tie-break, 9-8.
Because USF could only field three players for singles, there was no possible way for the Bulls to earn a victory.
“We played three top teams this weekend very hard and I was extrealy pleased with the effort on the court,” said Barr. “We took No. 37 Texas Tech down tot eh wire winning two matches and taking the rest into three sets. We are improving every week and our goal is to be 100 percent healthy going into the BIG EAST conference tournament here in Tampa.
The Bulls will travel to take on Middle Tennessee State on Friday, March 31. First serve is set for 2 p.m.
#73 Purdue 7, South Florida 0
Doubles
1. Jaeger/Brozyna (USF) def. Hodgman/Mabatah (PUR), 8-4
2. Foster/Zaske (PUR) def. Barton/Gattiker (USF), 9-8
3. Leibner/Warner (PUR), DNP
Singles
1. Colin Foster (PUR) def. Federico Barton (USF), default
2. Eric Hodgman (PUR) def. Marc Jaeger (USF), default
3. Kelubia Mabatah (PUR) def. Dillon Brozyna (USF), default
4. Jarred Leibner (PUR) def. Mark Gattiker (USF), default
5. Kurt Zaske (PUR). DNP
