University of South Florida
Notre Dame
Bulls Drop BIG EAST Semifinal to Notre Dame, 4-1
April 30, 2011 | Men's Tennis
The University of South Florida men's tennis team fell to Notre Dame, 4-1, on Saturday in the BIG EAST conference semifinal. The Bulls picked up a win from No. 1 player Lucas Jovita, but couldn't secure any additional points in a cold and windy morning match on the campus of the Fighting Irish.
No. 48 USF falls to 14-8 on the year with the loss, its second conference semifinal setback in as many seasons.
"It is obviously disappointing to not to get the job done today," USF head coach Don Barr said. "We got off to a slow start and you can't afford to do that against a good team like Notre Dame."
Jovita's win was the second match to finish, a 6-2, 6-0 victory for the senior over Casey Watt. Federico Sabogal earlier fell in his match with Greg Andrews, 6-3, 6-0 at No. 4, and Romain Deridder put the Bulls on the brink of defeat with his loss to Daniel Stahl, 6-1, 6-3 at No. 3.
The match ended with Wael Kilani's loss to Stephen Havens at No. 2 in a 7-6 (1), 6-4 decision.
Yannick Yoshizawa and Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard were both in the second set of their matches when Notre Dame clinched the victory.
In doubles play, the Bulls elected to rest Deridder, which put the untested tandem of Yoshizawa and Sebastian Hagn on the court at No. 3. That pairing fell to Andrews and Stahl, 8-3 to drop the point after Kilani and Sabogal fell to Watt and Havens 8-5 at No. 2.
Jovita and Jamal Adderley were tied 4-4 with Niall Fitzgerald and Spencer Talmadge when the point was decided.
USF will take on St. John's in the consolation match on Sunday at 12 p.m. ET.
No. 2 Notre Dame 4, No. 3 USF 1
Match 7-Men
April 30, 2011
Courtney Tennis Center – 9 a.m.
Doubles:
1. Niall Fitzgerald/Spencer Talmadge (ND) vs. Lucas Jovita/Jamal Adderley (USF), 4-4 DNF
2. Casey Watt/Stephen Havens (ND) def. Wael Kilani/Federico Sabogal (USF), 8-5
3. Greg Andrews/Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Yannick Yoshizawa/Sebastian Hagn (USF), 8-3*
Order of Finish: 2, 3*
Singles:
1. Lucas Jovita (USF) def. Casey Watt (ND), 6-2, 6-0
2. Stephen Havens (ND) def. Wael Kilani (USF), 7-6 (1), 6-0*
3. Daniel Stahl (ND) def. Romain Deridder (USF), 6-1, 6-0
4. Greg Andrews (ND) def. Federico Sabogal (USF), 6-3, 6-0
5. Sam Keeton (ND) vs. Yannick Yoshizawa (USF), 7-6 (2), 5-2 DNF
6. Blas Moros (ND) vs. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard (USF), 6-7 (3), 4-6 DNF
Order of Finish: 4, 1, 3, 2*
Match Duration: 2:45
