TAMPA, Fla. (April 1, 2007) ? In its final regular season home match, the University of South Florida men's tennis team ended its five-match losing streak with a 5-2 victory over Texas-San Antonio, Sunday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
The match featured a very unfamiliar lineup as the Bulls (7-11) were forced to shuffle the card due to injuries. UTSA was unable to field a full team due to injuries and was forced to default the No. 6 singles spot, as well as the No. 3 doubles match.
Mahmoud Hamed and Thomas Estrada were able to fight off minor ailments to seize the doubles point for the Bulls at No. 1, 9-7.
Five freshmen started in each of the singles spots for USF, including Diego Toledo, who got the nod up to No. 2, the highest start of his collegiate career. Facing off against the Roadrunners' Robin Fernandes, Toledo went the full three sets before setting down the UTSA sophomore, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 for the win.
“Today was a good testament for Diego,” said head coach Don Barr. “It was a good test for our freshmen in general. They had to step up and see if they could hold their positions.”
Henning Hipp won his second match in a row, rallying after a first set loss and taking the next two, to defeat Nenad Meric at the third spot.
The match was clinched by Daniel Daudt at No. 4, who made a similar comeback to Hipp's after a first set loss, 6-3. Daudt worked aggressively against Nate Avila to capture the remaining frames 6-3, 6-3 for the win.
The Bulls will finish out the regular season with a road trip to Louisville, Ky., to battle with nationally ranked, and conference opponent, Louisville on Fri., April 6. The team will be back in Tampa as host of the BIG EAST Championships, April 19-22. This year will mark the third consecutive year that the Varsity Tennis Courts have hosted the conference tournament.
USF 5, Texas-San Antonio 2
Doubles:
1) Hamed/Estrada (USF) def. Morgado/Becker (UTSA) 9-7
2) Fernandes/Maric (UTSA) def. Hipp/Daudt (USF) 8-6
3) DNP Sousa/Gattiker (USF) won by default
Singles:
1) Rodrigo Morgado (UTSA) def. Ales Svigelj (USF) 6-3, 6-4
2) Diego Toledo (USF) def. Robin Fernandes (UTSA) 6-4, 3-6, 6-2
3) Henning Hipp (USF) def. Nenad Meric (UTSA) 3-6, 6-1, 6-3
4) Daniel Daudt (USF) def. Nate Avila (UTSA) 3-6, 6-3, 6-3
5) Adam Becker (UTSA) def. Keith Embree (USF) 6-3, 6-4
6) DNP Mark Gattiker (USF) won by default
Order of Finish:
Doubles ? 2,1
Singles ? 5,1,3,4,2
USF: 7-11 UTSA: 9-10
