The University of South Florida fell 4-0 to UNC-Wilmington in unseasonably windy and cool conditions on Thursday at the USF Varsity Courts. The Bulls drop to 5-3 on the season with the loss, but will return to action on Friday vs. Penn State at 2 p.m. ET.

“I have to give North Carolina-Wilmington credit, they came after us,” USF head coach Don Barr said. “They were aggressive, and we played careful tennis. It showed in how the match was played and the outcome."

In singles play, UNC-Wilmington picked up the first three matches to earn the win, and the remaining contests were halted to due to darkness. The match, originally scheduled for 2 p.m., didn't start until 2:45 because of rain.

The first match off the courts was No. 2 where Wael Kilani fell to Kinshuk Sharma, 6-4, 6-1. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard was the next to go down, 6-2, 6-3, to Illia Ziamtsou in the No. 6 spot. The match-clinching win came from Wilmington's Rafael Aita over Federico Sabogal, 7-6 (10-8), 6-1 in the No. 4 slot.

Lucas Jovita, Romain Deridder and Yannick Yoshizawa were all in third sets when play was stopped.

The Bulls lost the doubles point for just the third time this season after dropping the decisive match in a tiebreaker.  Jovita played with Sebastian Hagn at No. 3, and that duo won their match over Michael Pereira and Pedro Mol, 8-5. At No. 1, USF's Deridder and Yoshizawa fell to Sharma and Chris Cooprider, 8-5, and the No. 2 match ended with Ziamtsou and Kosta Blank winning the tiebreaker over Kilani and Sabogal, 9-8 (7-3).

USF takes on Penn State at 2 p.m. on Friday at the USF Varsity Courts. Admission to all USF tennis matches is free.


USF vs. UNC –Wilmington
March 10, 2011
USF Varsity Courts

Singles
1. Lucas Jovita (USF) and Michael Pereira, 6-3, 3-6, 2-0 Unf.
2. Kinshuk Sharma (UNCW) def. Wael Kilani (USF), 6-4, 6-1               
3. Romain Deridder (USF) and Chris Cooprider, 6-2, 2-6, 4-4 Unf.
4. Rafael Aita (UNCW) def. Federico Sabogal (USF), 6-7 (10-8), 6-1
5. Yannick Yoshizawa (USF) and    Kosta Blank (UNCW), 5-7, 6-4 Unf.
6. Illia Ziamtsou (UNCW) def. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard (USF), 6-2, 6-3   
Order of Finish – 2, 6, 4

Doubles
1.  Sharma/Cooprider (UNCW) def. Deridder/Yoshizawa    (USF), 8-5   
2.  Ziamtsou/Blank (UNCW) def. Kilani/Sabogal (USF), 9-8 (7-3)       
3.  Jovita/Hagn (USF) def. Pereira/Pedro Mol (UNCW), 8-5
Order of Finish – 1, 3, 2