TAMPA, Fla. ? The University of South Florida men's tennis team started the year with a 5-2 victory over #32 Rice on Sunday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts in Tampa.

“The guys continued to battle hard and go after points,” said head coach Don Barr. “This was a big win over a very tough ranked opponent and I've very proud of the way they fought to the end.”

USF (1-0) won the doubles point in one hour with wins on courts one and two. Thomas Estrada and Daniel Daudt clinched the point for the Bulls with their 8-5 victory over Ralph Knupfer and Toby Scheil on the first court.

In singles play, USF's three freshman stole the show. Lucas Jovita and Jamaal Adderley both defeated ranked opponents while Michael Nusslein won a critical match at the No. 5 spot.

Jovita dominated # 34 Christoph Muller in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3, while clinching the match for the Bulls at the No. 2 spot. Jovita was off the court in less then one hour.

“I've trained very hard on the court and in the classroom to be able to play tennis at USF,” said Jovita. “I knew if I came out, played my game and battled, I would have a shot at winning.”

With the match in hand, Adderley never gave up at the No. 3 singles position. After losing the first set, 6-4, he rallied to win the second set, 7-6 (5), forcing his opponent, #45 Knupfer, to a 10-point tiebreaker. In the tiebreaker set, Adderley cruised to a 5-0 advantage before Knupfer came roaring back. He won the next three points before Adderley took over behind the support of his teammates and fans to take the tie-break, 10-7, and win the match.

The Bulls will travel to Tallahassee, Fla. to take on the Florida State Seminoles on Saturday Feb. 2. The last meeting between the two Florida schools ended in a 5-2 win by Florida State in Tampa. First serve is set for 3 p.m.

NCAA Men's Tennis
USF vs. #32 Rice
January 27, 2008
USF Varsity Tennis Courts

Doubles
1. Estrada/Daudt (USF) def. Knupfer/Scheil (Rice), 8-5
2. Nusslein/Jovita (USF) def. Muller/Zivojinovic (Rice), 8-2
3. Rosa/Wang (Rice) def. Hamed/Adderley (USF), 8-2
Order of Finish ? 3, 2, 1

Singles
1. Bruno Rosa (Rice) def. #84 Mahmoud Hamed (USF), 7-5, 6-4
2. Lucas Jovita (USF) def. #34 Cristoph Muller (Rice), 6-2, 6-3
3. Jamaal Adderley (USF) def. #45 Ralph Knupfer (Rice), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 10-7
4. Filip Zivojinovic (Rice) def. Diego Toledo (USF), 2-6, 6-0, 6-0
5. Michael Nusslein (USF) def. Chong Wang (Rice), 6-2, 6-4
6. Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Toby Scheil (Rice), 6-2, 6-4
Order of Finish ? 6, 5, 2, 4, 1, 3