Ft. Myers, Fla. ? The University of South Florida women's tennis team kicked off its season with an impressive win over the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles, 7-0, Saturday afternoon in Ft. Myers, Fla.

USF jumped out to an early 1-0 lead, earning the much coveted doubles point. The Bulls were led by the duo of Baylor transfer Jessica Zok and Sophomore Jessica Sweeting at the No. 1 spot, defeating FGCU's top team of Maria Maggianni and Maria Branieska, 8-4).

“For the first match of the season I think they did a great job and competed well,” said head coach Agustin Moreno. “Everyone played better then what I saw in practice.”

In singles play, the Bulls easily took all six matches from the Eagles.

Ohio State transfer Allyn Mueller made her USF debut at the No. 2 spot, taking down Maggianni in straight sets, 6-1, 6-0.

“It's great to start the year off win a win, but we need to quickly turn our focus to FAU,” added Moreno. “They (FAU) played us tough last year and we have to take them seriously. We don't want to be caught off guard.”

The Bulls return to the courts on Sunday when they face the FAU Owls in Boca Raton, Fla. First serve is set for Noon.

NCAA Women's Tennis
USF Bulls (1-0) vs. Florida Gulf Coast Eagles (0-1)
January 12, 2008
Ft. Myers, Fla.

No. 29 USF 7, FGCU 0

Doubles
1. Zok/Sweeting (USF) def. Maggiorini/Braniecka (FGCU), 8-4
2. Rai/Schumate (USF) def. Pfeiffer/Vaughn (FGCU), 8-1
3. Mueller/Guevara (USF) def. Johnson/Kinley (FGCU), 8-4

Singles
1. Jessica Zok (USF) def. Maria Maggiorini (FGCU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Allyn Mueller (USF) def. Maria Braniecka (FGCU), 6-1, 6-0
3. Natalia Guevara (USF) def. Lauren Pfeiffer (FGCU), 6-2, 6-0
4. Iciri Rai (USF) def. Jordan Vaughn (FGCU), 6-2, 6-2
5. Lauren Schumate (USF) def. Leah Johnson (FGCU), 6-2, 6-1
6. Jessica Sweeting (USF) def. Brett Kinley (FGCU), 6-3, 6-3