TAMPA- Making their 2009 home debut at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts, the No. 55 University of South Florida women's tennis team began a weekend homestand with No. 70 Furman. The Bulls battled all afternoon, but the visiting Paladins lineup proved to be too much as they handed USF a 5-2 loss.
The Bulls began the afternoon in doubles competition wanting to secure the first point of the match, but it would not come to fruition as USF found themselves down 1-0 as all three USF doubles pairing lost in tough matches.
The Bulls No. 1 doubles duo of Iciri Rai and Jessica Zok held a 6-5 advantage before dropping a tough back-and-forth tilt, 8-6, to a pair of top 40 singles players in Laura Gioia and Monica Arguello. Gioia and Arguello entered today's match-up as the No. 9 and No. 37 singles players in the country, respectively.
In the No. 2 slot, Natalia Guevara and Jessica Sweeting fell to Jennifer Betts and Lauren Tomory, 8-4 and in the No.3 position, Allyn Mueller and Lauren Shumate could not overcome Furman's Jessica Preeg and Susan Bitetti, losing 8-5.
By dropping the doubles, the Bulls faced an uphill climb and needed victories in four of the six singles matches to claim the dual. However, the Bulls could only muster two singles victories giving Furman the final 5-2 verdict
The Bulls singles victories would come from their fourth and sixth positions as Natalia Guevara went on to defeat Susan Bitetti , 6-1, 6-1 and Lauren Shumate would tally a win over Jennifer Betts,6-1, 6-4.
In the No. 1 position, No. 121 Jessica Zok faced a tall order in the highly-ranked Gioia. Zok fell, 6-1, 6-1. In the No. 2 slot for the Bulls, No. 37 Monica Arguello proved to be too much for the Jessica Sweeting, as she handed the Bull a 6-1, 6-0 loss.
With score standing at 3-2 with two matches still on-going, the Bulls still had some life. The match would be clinched with Furman's Lauren Tomory's victory over Allyn Mueller, 6-1, 6-2 at the No. 5 spot.
In the last match of the day, USF had one last chance to salvage one more victory but senior Iciri Rai could take advantage of a first set, 6-2 win. She dropped the second, 6-4, and the tie breaker, 10-6, to end the day.
The Bulls fell to 0-3 on the young season but won't have to wait long, as they meet No. 26 Florida State on Sunday at 11 a.m. The USF men's team will also host Georgia State starting at 11 a.m. with both matches taking place at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
Furman 5, USF 2
Feb 13, 2009
USF Varsity Tennis Courts
Tampa, Fla.
Doubles
1. Laura Gioia/ Monica Arguello def. Jessica Zok/ Iciri Rai (USF) 8-6
2. Jennifer Betts/ Lauren Tomory def. Natalia Guevara/ Jessica Sweeting (USF) 8-4
3. Jessica Preeg/ Susan Bitetti def. Ally Mueller/ Lauren Shumate (USF) 8-6
Singles
1. No. 9 Laura Gioia def. No. 102 Jessica Zok (USF) - 6-1, 6-1
2. No. 37 Monica Arguello def. Jessica Sweeting (USF) - 6-1, 6-0
3. Jessica Preeg def. Iciri Rai (USF) - 2-6, 6-4, 10-6
4. Natalia Guevara (USF) def. Susan Bitetti - 6-1, 6-1
5. Lauren Tomory def. Allyn Mueller (USF) - 6-1, 6-2
6. Lauren Shumate (USF) def. Jennifer Betts - 6-1, 6-4
