TAMPA - The University of South Florida men's tennis team used its first dual match of the season to make a strong opening statement in 2009.

The Bulls, who opened the season at No. 40 in most the recent Intercollegiate Tennis Association Team rankings, pulled an upset over in-state rival and No. 11 Florida State, 5-2, Monday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

The Bulls would set the tone early and it would be senior Mahmoud Hamed, who would get the Bulls rolling. Teamed with freshman Yannick Yoshizawa in the No. 3 slot, Hamed would begin the day by defeating FSU's duo of Chris Clover and Vahid Mirzadah, 8-3, to get the Bulls first win of the day.

Junior Thomas Estrada and sophomore Lucas Jovita, who are ranked No. 15 in doubles, squared off with 23rd-ranked FSU team of junior Jean-Yves Aubone and sophomore Clint Bowles, but were unable to capture a victory in an 8-5 loss.

The doubles point would come down to match-up pitting two ranked doubles teams. The 58th ranked team of sophomore Romain Deridder and freshman Wael Kiliani would take on FSU's 47th-ranked duo of seniors Drew Bailey and Maciek Sykut. After taking an early lead, Kilani and Deridder grinded out a 9-8(7) victory to give the Bulls a 1-0 advantage heading into singles play and needing just a 3-3 split to win the dual.

The Bulls momentum would carry over as Estrada, playing in the No. 6 slot, would give the Bulls a 2-0 advantage by quickly dispatching Drew Bailey, 7-6 (6), 7-5.

Then it would be the senior, Hamed, giving the Bulls a 3-0 lead with a 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 win over Vahid Mirzadeh at the No. 2 position.

The Seminoles would get on the board as Jean-Yves Aubone knocked off Jovita and his No. 27 ranking, 7-5, 7-4. With the loss Jovita now falls to 2-1 on the early season.

With a 3-1 advantage, the Bulls needed just one win out of the final three matches and it would be the freshman, Kilani playing in the No. 4 slot. He would put the match on ice as he disposed of No. 79 Maciek Sykut , 6-4, 2-6, 6-3, to give the Bulls the clinching fourth point.

Sophomore Jamal Adderley then battled back after dropping his first se and trailing by three points to defeat Chris Cloer, 6-7(12-10), 7-6(7), 7-4, in the match of the  day.

In the final match of the afternoon, sophomore Romain Deridder battled but couldn't outlast No. 29 Clint Bowles as he fell in three sets, 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 while playing in the No. 3 position.

The Bulls are off until Jan.31 when they travel to TCU for the ITA Indoor Championships.  The Bulls will then be in Tucson, Arizona to take on the Arizona Wildcats on Friday, Feb. 6 and St. Mary's on Saturday, Feb. 7. The Bulls will not be back in Tampa until Feb. 15 against Georgia State at 11 a.m. at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

Doubles
No. 1- J. Aubone/ Bowles def. No. 15 L. Jovita/ T. Estrada, 8-5
No. 2- R. Deridder/ W. Kilani def. D. Bailey/ M. Sykut 9-8
No. 3- M. Hamed/ Y. Yoshizawa def. C. Cloer/ V/ Mirzadeh 8-3

Singles
No. 1-  Jean-Yves Aubone (FSU) def. No. 27 Lucas Jovita (USF), 7-5, 6-4
No. 2- Mahmoud Hamed(USF) def. Vahid Mirzadeh , 6-4, 1-6. 6-2
No. 3- #29 Clint Bowles (FSU def. Romain Deridder(USF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 4- Wael Kilani(USF) def.  #79 Maciek Sykut (FSU) , 6-4, 2-6, 6-3
No. 5- Jamal Adderley (USF) def. Chris Cloer (FSU) 6-7, 7-6, 7-4
No. 6- Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Drew Bailey (FSU) 7-6(6), 7-5