USF vs. Miami Box Score
GAINESVILLE, Fla. ? The University of South Florida men's tennis team fell to the No. 19 University of Miami Hurricanes by a score of 4-2 in the first round of the 2008 NCAA Championships on the campus of the University of Florida at the Ring Tennis Complex in Gainesville, Fla.
The No. 42 Bulls ended the season with a 14-7 record, reaching the first round of the NCAA Championships for the first time since 2003.
The No. 19 Hurricanes improved to 17-7 on the year and advance to face the No. 9 University of Florida Gators (16-7) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Florida defeated Navy by a score of 4-0 to advance to the second round of the championships.
“Hats off to Miami, I knew they were going to be a very tough team and they proved that they were,” said USF head coach Don Barr. “Our guys fought their hearts out and that's all I can ask of my guys. We go back to the drawing board and understand what we need to do to get better physically and mentally and hopefully we can have them invited down to out place and play them there.”
Those in attendance for the double portion of the match witnessed a see-saw battle from the get go, with Miami taking a 1-0 advantage with their 8-2 win at the No. 1 spot in the best-of-three pro set doubles. The Canes then clinched the doubles point at the No. 2 spot with an 8-5 victory. USF's No. 3 doubles team was tied at seven apiece with a 40-30 advantage before the match was stopped when the doubles point was clinched.
Diego Toledo was off the court first for the Bulls in singles competition with his 6-1, 6-3 victory over Barnabas Carrega at the No. 6 position. Toledo, a sophomore from Florianopolis, Brazil, never trailed in the match, raising his dual-match record to 12-7 to finish out the season.
Michael Nusslein gave USF a 2-1 advantage with his 6-4, 6-4 win over Keith Crowley at the No. 5 spot. The freshman out of Bad Waldsee, Germany, raised his 2008 season record to 15-4, winning nine out of his last 11 matches.
Miami tied the match back up at 2-2 when sophomore Thomas Estrada had to retire due to illness in the second set tied 5-5 (40-40) after he dropped the first to Miami's Carl Sundberg No. the No. 4 court.
No. 5 Daniel Vallverdu put the Canes back on top 3-2 with his 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over No. 84 Lucas Jovita. Jovita finished his freshman campaign with a 14-6 record.
After dropping the first set 6-3, freshman Jamal Adderley stormed back against Miami's David Rosenfeld to send the match into a third and final set with his impressive 7-6 (7) comeback in the second. Adderley was tied 2-2 in his third set when Miami's Vivek Subramanian clinched the match for the Canes with his 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 victory of USF's Mahmoud Hamed. Hamed, a senior from Cairo, Egypt, finished the year with an over record of 15-15 in both the fall and spring seasons. Hamed has one more year of collegiate eligibility and will return to the Bulls lineup during the 2009 spring season.
With the return of Hamed, USF will have the entire squad back for the 2008-09 season.
“As long as we work hard over the summer and they prepare properly, they will up there level of play and maturity and I really believe we can be a top-20 team next season,” said Barr about returning everyone next year. “
NCAA Men's First Round
Sat., May 10, 2008
Gainesville, Fla.
UM 4, USF 2
Doubles
1. No. 3 Vallverdu/Sundberg (UM) def. Daudt/Estrada (USF), 8-2
2. Subramanian/Rosenfeld (UM) def. Jovita/Hamed (USF), 8-5
3. Nusslein/Adderley (USF) vs. Crowley/Nieto (UM), 7-7 (40-30)
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3 (DNF)
Singles
1. No. 5 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. No. 84 Lucas Jovita (USF), 7-6 (5), 6-2
2. Vivek Subramanian (UM) def. Mahmoud Hamed (USF), 6-1, 5-7, 6-2
3. Jamal Adderley (USF) vs. David Rosenfeld (UM), 3-6, 7-6 (7), 2-2
4. Carl Sundberg (UM) def. Thomas Estrada (USF), 6-4, 5-5 (Ret.)
5. Michael Nusslein (USF) def. Keith Crowley (UM), 6-4, 6-4
6. Diego Toledo (USF) def. Barnabas Carrega (UM), 6-1, 6-3
Order of Finish: 6, 5, 4, 1, 2, 3 (DNF)
