TAMPA (Sept. 8, 2014)—Two Bulls have landed in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's preseason rankings. Junior Roberto Cid is ranked 19th in the nation in singles, while his doubles partner, sophomore Sasha Gozun, is ranked 119th. Together, the pair are ranked 12th in the doubles standings.
Cid finished the 2014 season in outstanding fashion, finishing as an All-American and ranked No. 32 to end the year. The junior from Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic went 24-6 in singles and helped lead the Bulls to their first American Athletic Conference crown.
At the NCAA Championships, Cid took down top-seeded Clay Thompson of UCLA in straight sets in the opening round. The junior defeated two others to advance to the quarterfinals, including Oklahoma's Dane Webb who was named to the All-Tournament Team for No. 3 singles after finishing as the runner-up to USC in the team championship. Cid's run ended in the quarterfinals but he became the first USF men's player to earn All-American honors and was named the AAC Player of the Year.
Gozun posted a 12-14 singles record, playing in the two, three and four spots throughout the season. He won all three of his matches during the Bulls run to the AAC Championship. With Cid, Gozun posted a 17-5 overall record in doubles, including going 4-3 against ranked doubles teams. The duo finished the year ranked No. 38 in the ITA standings.
Cid and Gozun's success from the previous year has landed them in the doubles main draw for the Saint Francis Health System ITA Men's All-American Championships, hosted in Tulsa this year. Cid will also compete in the singles main draw, which begins on Oct. 2. Cid will be in the company of other top-ranked tennis players including Baylor's Julian Lenz, Oklahoma's Axel Alvarez-Llamas, and USC's Yannick Haffman.
Gozun and senior Oliver Pramming have been selected for the singles qualifying draw, while sophomore Vadym Klayuzhnyy, juniors Ignacio Gonzales-Muniz and Everth Dzib and incoming freshman Justin Roberts have all been selected for the pre-qualifying singles draw.
The All-American Championships begin on Sept. 27 with pre-qualifying rounds at the Michael D. Case Center in Tulsa, Okla.
