TAMPA, Fla. ? Led by No. 81 ranked freshman Lucas Jovita, the No. 36 University of South Florida men's tennis team took care of the University of Central Florida Knights, 5-2, Sunday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
The Bulls (12-4) have won nine out of their last ten matches and have reached 12 wins for the first time since they had 16 in the 2003 season.
The Green and Gold took a 1-0 lead behind the strong doubles play of Jamal Adderley and Michael Nusslein who defeated Miko Overkemping and Blaze Schwartz, 9-7 to clinch the doubles victory.
Mahmoud Hamed looked strong in his comeback from nagging injuries, taking care of Overkemping, 6-2, 7-5 at the No. 2 spot.
After the Bulls went up 2-0, UCF came back to take the next two points at the No. 5 and No. 3 courts to tie the match at 2-2.
Sophomore Thomas Estrada broke the tie and gave USF the advantage in the match with his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Brock Sakey at the No. 4 spot.
Not look after Estrada was off the court, Jovita clinched the match at the top spot with his 6-3, 7-6 win over Sinan Sudas to give USF the victory.
Diego Toledo won his match at the No. 6 spot against Claudio Romano, 6-3, 6-2 to finish off the match.
The Bulls will return to the courts on Friday, April 4 when they host the Virginia Commonwealth Rams at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. The first serve is set for 2 p.m.
NCAA Men's Tennis
No. 36 USF 5, UCF 2
USF Varsity Tennis Courts
Tampa, Fla.
Doubles
1. Estrada/Daudt (USF) def. Sudos/Romano (UCF), 8-3
2. Beigart/Sakey (UCF) def. Toledo/Jovita (USF), 8-7 (4)
3. Adderley/Nusslein (USF) def. Overkemping/Schwartz (UCF), 9-7
Order finish: 1, 2, 3
Singles
1. No. 81 Lucas Jovita (USF) def. Sinan Sudas (UCF), 6-3, 7-6
2. Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. Miko Overkemping (UCF), 6-2, 6-3
3. Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Jamal Adderley (USF), 6-2, 7-5
4. Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Brock Sakey (UCF), 6-4, 6-4
5. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) def. Michael Nusslein (USF), 6-4, 6-0
6. Diego Toledo (USF) def. Blaze Schwartz (UCF), 6-3, 6-2
Order finish: 2, 5, 3, 6, 4, 1
