TAMPA, Fla. ? After a short road trip, the No. 31 University of South Florida men's tennis team returned to their home courts and defeated the Cornell Big Red, 7-0, Wednesday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
The win brings USF's record to 10-4 on the season and eclipses last year's win total of nine with five regular season matches to play as well as the BIG EAST Championships.
The Bulls have enjoyed the home cooking of the USF Varsity Tennis Courts, extending their home-match win-streak to 10.
“We beat a very good team 7-0,” said USF head coach Don Barr. “We are learning to defend our courts and that will prepare us for the post season when we host the BIG EAST Championships here in April.”
The Bulls came out of the gate strong, winning all three doubles matches against a scrappy Big Red team.
The doubles tandem of Thomas Estrada and Daniel Daudt clinched the point and gave USF the lead in the match after defeating Doppelt and Nichols, 8-5 at the top singles spot.
Mahmoud Hamed picked up his second victory of the season and clinched the match for the Bulls with his 6-0, 6-2 victory over Joshua Goldstein at the No. 2 spot. Hamed has been in and out of the line up most of the season with nagging injuries and looks to be returning to his early season form that saw him ranked in the top 80 in college tennis.
The Bulls will return to the courts tomorrow when they face the Winthrop Eagles at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. The first serve is set for 2 p.m.
NCAA Men's Tennis
No. 31 USF 7, Cornell 0
USF Varsity Tennis Courts
Tampa, Fla.
Doubles
1. Estrada/Daudt (USF) def. Doppelt/Nichols (CU), 8-5
2. Toledo/Jovita (USF) def. Goldstein/Heggie (CU), 8-4
3. Adderley/Nusslein (USF) def. Ash/Klis (CU), 9-8
Order finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. Lucas Jovita (USF) def. Kyle Doppelt (CU), 6-1, 6-1
2. Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. Joshua Goldstein (CU), 6-0, 6-2
3. Jamal Adderley (USF) def. Jonathan Jaklitsch (CU), 7-6, 6-3
4. Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Jonathan Fife (CU), 6-1, 6-3
5. Michael Nusslein (USF) def. Marc Ash (CU), 6-0, 6-0
6. Diego Toledo (USF) def. Jeremy Feldman (CU), 7-6, 2-6, 1-0 (8)
Order finish: 5, 1, 2, 4, 3, 6
