By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - A little adversity could end up benefitting the
Bulls in head coach Matt Hill's eyes.
The USF men's tennis team didn't get off to the start it
wanted at ITA Kickoff Weekend on Saturday when the Bulls suffered a 4-0 loss to
BYU in Los Angeles. USF will face Cal Poly on Sunday in the consolation match of
national indoor qualifying at UCLA.
"Today definitely wasn't one of our best performances," Hill
said. "We put ourselves into a hole in doubles. We managed to claw ourselves
out of the hole and into winning position but just couldn't capitalize on an
opportunity. In singles, we were competing really well but not finishing when
we're getting into a position."
BYU took all three doubles matches before getting the points
it needed in singles on another day that was complicated because of weather at
the Los Angeles Tennis Center. Rain postponed the USF-BYU battle on Friday and
delayed action on Saturday. USF's match Sunday against Col Poly will not start
before 1:30 p.m. (ET) because of other matches that have been pushed back.
"It's frustrating, but it's good to play a team that put our
backs up against the wall to see what our guys do in those moments," Hill said.
"They're fired up and our goal is to go .500 for the weekend. The guys are
pumped to play a really good Cal Poly team tomorrow."
BYU 4, USF 0
Doubles
1. Patrick Kawka/Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Ignacio Gonzalez Muniz/Oliver Pramming (USF), 8-7
2. Guillermo De Vilchez/Ravi Patel (USF) def. Travis Fillmore/Spencer Smith (BYU), 8-4
3. Keaton Cullimore/John Pearce (BYU) def. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard/Everth Dzib (USF), 8-3
Singles
1. Spencer Smith (BYU) def. Oliver Pramming (USF) 7-6, 6-1
2. Patrick Kawka (BYU) def. Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF) 6-4, 6-2
3. #105 Federico Sabogal (USF) vs. Keaton Cullimore (BYU) 6-2, 4-4, unfinished
4. Francis Sargeant (BYU) def. Ravi Patel (USF) 6-3, 6-3
5. Guillermo De Vilchez (USF) vs. John Pearce (BYU) 3-6, unfinished
6. Everth Dzib (USF) vs. Andrey Goryachkov (BYU) 4-6, unfinished
Match Notes
BYU 5-0; National ranking #57
South Florida 2-1; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,1,4)
