The University of South Florida men's tennis team opened BIG EAST play with a 5-2 win over St. John's on Sunday at the USF Varsity Courts. The Bulls are now 7-3 on the season and 1-0 in conference play with matches this week vs. Iowa, Auburn and Tulsa.

“It's always good to get a conference win,” USF head coach Don Barr said. “They battled us last year and I expect that we'll get a battle from them if we see them at the conference tournament this year. They are a good team that is just getting used to playing outdoors.”

Federico Sabogal ran his record to 8-2 on the year and clinched the match for the Bulls with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Gustav Kallen in the No. 3 position.

 A doubles sweep and singles wins from Lucas Jovita and Wael Kilani in the top two spots set Sabogal up for the clinching point. Jovita defeated Stefan Bojic 6-2, 6-4 in the top spot, and Kilani won his match over Milo Hauk, 6-2, 6-4, in the No. 2 position.

Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard picked up an additional win in the No. 6 spot, defeating Mischa Koran 7-5, 7-6 (8-6).

Sebastian Hagn, forced up to the No. 5 position because of an injury to Romain Deridder, was first off the courts with a 6-1, 6-1 loss to Matty Najfield. Yannick Yoshizawa also dropped his match at No. 4 in three sets, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4.

USF won the doubles point decisively with wins from the No. 1 and No. 2 pairings. Deridder and Yoshizawa were first off the courts after making relatively easy work of Kallen and Hauk, 8-2, in the top position. A few minutes later, Kilani and Sabogal dropped Pavel Cerny and Lampa, 8-3, in the second spot.  USF jumped out to 6-0 leads in both matches.

Jovita and Hagn were the last to finish, winning 8-4 over Koran and Najfield in the No. 3 spot.

USF hosts No. 71 Iowa at 12 p.m. on Monday. Admission to all USF tennis matches is free.

USF  5, St, John's 2
March 13, 2011
USF Varsity Courts

Singles
1. Lucas Jovita (USF) def. Stefan Bojic (SJU), 6-2, 6-4
2. Wael Kilani (USF) def. Milo Hauk (SJU)    , 6-2, 6-4
3. Federico Sabogal (USF) def. Gustav Kallen (SJU), 6-3,6-2
4. Mike Lampa (SJU) def. Yannick Yoshizawa (USF), 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
5.  Matty Najfield (SJU) def. Sebastian Hagn (USF), 6-1, 6-1
6. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard (USF) def. Mischa Koran (SJU), 7-5, 7-6 (8-6)
Order of Finish – 5, 2, 1, 3, 6, 5

Doubles
1.Deridder/Yoshizawa (USF) def. Kallen/Hauk (SJU), 8-2
2. Kilani/Sabogal (USF) def. Pavel Cerny/Lampa (SJU), 8-3
3. Jovita/Hagn (USF) def. Koran/Najfield (SJU), 8-5
Order of Finish – 1, 2, 3


Bulls Host No. 71 Iowa on Monday
Just off a 5-2 vs. St. John's on Sunday, the Bulls step back out of the BIG EAST for a match with No. 71 Iowa on Monday at 12 p.m. at the USF Varsity Courts.  The Hawkeyes entered the weekend with a 4-4 overall record and a match at UCF on Sunday afternoon.

Iowa brings one ranked doubles tandem to Tampa in the No. 71 pairing of Will Vasos and Austen Kauss, while the Bulls are absent from the latest individual and doubles rankings.

“Iowa is a very good team, a very aggressive team,” USF head coach Don Barr said. “They are a team that likes to come to the net, so we'll have a chance to sharpen up our passing shots.”

The Iowa match kicks off a spring break week at home for the Bulls that will also feature matches vs. Auburn on Wednesday and Tulsa on Thursday.