TAMPA- The University of South Florida men's team picked a huge victory over in-state rival and 33rd ranked Miami for the first time in three years as the Bulls captured the doubles point and cruised to 5-2 win Friday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Court.
In what is becoming a recent trend for USF, the Bulls started strong by claiming the doubles point, which set the tone of the match. The Bulls swept all three doubles matches to capture the early lead and they would never look back. The nations 54th ranked doubles team of Lucas Jovita and Thomas Estrada got the Bulls going with an 8-4 victory over two ranked singles players in Daniel Vallverdu and Carl Sundberg in the No. 1 doubles. The sophomore-junior duo has won their last three matches and have won six of their last seven.
USF's No. 2 and 3 doubles would quickly follow suit with victories of their own as senior Mahmoud Hamed and sophomore Jamal Adderley grinded out a 8-6 victory over Christian Blocker and David Rosenfeld followed by the freshman combo of Yannick Yoshizawa and Wael Kilani defeating Keith Crowley and David Simon.
With a 1-0 lead in hand heading to singles, the Bulls needed just three wins to claim the dual. The Bulls would do just that as the Bulls' singles line-up produced four victories coming the No. 2, 3, 4 and 5 singles slots. Adderley continued his strong singles play as he took care of Ignacio Taboada in straight sets 6-3, 6-4. He has won his last four matches and in those matches has not lost a set.
Also continuing his solid play was Kilani in the No. 2 position. The No. 93 ranked Kilani extended his winning streak to four with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Christian Blocker. Kilani is now 9-3 in dual matches and an impressive 20-5 overall.
For the second consecutive, Hamed would put the match on ice as he grinded out a three set victory to clinch it for the Bulls. Hamed won his fifth straight dual match by defeating Daven Rosenfeld, 6-0, 2-6, 6-1 to give the Bulls the clinching fourth point.
With the match decided, Romain Deridder picked up an impressive over the 78th ranked Sunberg as Deridder battled back after dropping his first set, 4-6, he fought back with a 7-6 second set victory then claimed the match by winning the super tie break 10-3.
With the win, the 50th Bulls are now 8-4 on the season and having won their last four matches. Three of the four teams over the streak are ranked 68th or higher by the ITA. The Bulls will now turn their focus to Florida Atlantic on Sunday at Noon.
No. 50 USF 5, No. 33 Miami 2 Singles
1. #27 Daniel Vallverdu (UM) def. #62 Lucas Jovita (USF) 6-2, 7-5
2. #96 Wael Kilani (USF) def. Christian Blocker (UM) 6-4, 6-4
3. Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. David Rosenfeld (UM) 6-0, 2-6, 6-1
4. Jamal Adderley (USF) def. Ignacio Taboada (UM) 6-3, 6-4
5. Romain Deridder (USF) def. #87 Carl Sundberg (UM) 4-6, 7-6, 10-3
6. David Simon (UM) def. Thomas Estrada (USF) 6-2, 6-3
Doubles
1. #28 Lucas Jovita/Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Daniel Vallverdu/Carl Sundberg (UM) 8-4
2. Jamal Adderley/Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. Christian Blocker/David Rosenfeld (UM) 8-6
3. Wael Kilani/Yanick Yoshizawa (USF) def. Keith Crowley/David Simon (UM) 8-4
