University of South Florida
Denver
Injury In Pivotal Match Costs Bulls Against No. 50 Denver
March 22, 2007 | Men's Tennis
TAMPA, Fla. (March 22, 2007) ? With the match tied at three apiece, freshman Daniel Daudt suffered an injury to his leg that he never fully recovered from, and the No. 50 Denver Pioneers defeated the University of South Florida men's tennis team 4-3, Thursday evening at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
The Bulls (6-9) controlled the match early on, taking the doubles point and then winning the first set of four singles matches.
The Pioneers (9-4) mounted a comeback however, and ended up on top in two out of the four in which USF seized the opening set.
Thomas Estrada was the lone Bull to close out in straight sets, as he dispatched DU's Kalle Rosen at the fifth spot.
Mahmoud Hamed needed three sets to sink Timo Kienle at No. 4. He and Estrada both lead the team with 11 wins thus far on the season.
At the top of the lineup, Ales Svigelj ran into trouble with No. 19, Adam Holmstrom, 7-6(4), 6-2, and Marc Jaeger could not escape Denver's Nejc Smole on court two, 6-3, 6-2.
Knotted at 3-3, the match came down to Daudt and Ravjot Dhatt at the sixth position. Daudt won the first set easily, but then faltered to Dhatt 6-4 in the second. Tied at 3-3 in the deciding frame, Daudt went down for the first time with a leg injury that stopped play for several minutes. Once on his feet, the Brazilian showed true grit by continuing the match and winning the game.
The injury eventually took its toll however, as Daudt was forced to the ground a second time, but still continued on with the match, using well-placed drop shots to fight with. Dhatt claimed the match and the win for his team 7-5 in the third, after over four hours of play.
USF will next take a day to regroup and then head to Orlando in hopes of ending the team's three-match losing streak. The Bulls will meet No. 62 UCF on Sat., Mar. 24 at 1 p.m.
No. 50 Denver 4, USF 3
Doubles
1) Holmstrom/Persson (DU) def. Hamed/Estrada (USF) 8-4
2) Hipp/Daudt (USF) def. Dhatt/Smole (DU) 8-2
3) Jaeger/Svigelj (USF) def. Kienle/Rosen (DU) 8-6
Singles:
1) (19) Adam Holmstrom (DU) def. Ales Svigelj (USF) 7-6(4), 6-2
2) Nejc Smole (DU) def. Marc Jaeger (USF) 6-3, 6-2
3) Niklas Persson (DU) def. Henning Hipp (USF) 0-6, 6-2, 6-1
4) Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. Timo Kienle (DU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-1
5) Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Kalle Rosen (DU) 6-4, 6-1
6) Ravjot Dhatt (DU) def. Daniel Daudt (USF) 0-6, 6-4, 7-5
Order of Finish
Doubles: 1,3,2
Singles: 5,1,2,3,4,6
USF: 6-9 DU: 9-4
