By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TULSA, Okla., APRIL 19, 2015 – No. 21 USF seized its second consecutive American Athletic Conference Men's Tennis Championship title with a 4-0 victory over host Tulsa on Sunday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
USF men's tennis increased its conference championship total to 16 in program history by beating a league tournament host in the title match for the second straight season.
"It's an amazing feeling every time you win one," head coach Matt Hill said. "It's even sweeter when it's a win over a team that had beaten you earlier in the season. It's great for our guys and it showed all the hard work they've put in since that day."
Top-seeded USF (19-6) grabbed the momentum right away by getting tough in doubles competition. Sasha Gozun and Vadym Kalyuzhnyy got things started with a 6-3 win in the second spot before second-seeded Tulsa evening things up with a victory in the third position.
All eyes were on the 31st-ranked duo of Oliver Pramming and Justin Roberts as they clinched the first point of the match with a 6-3 win over Or Ram-Harel and Alejandro Espejo.
"That's a big point and it gave our guys a lot of confidence," Hill said.
Roberts clinched match point the past two days and the freshman from Nassau, Bahamas continued to step up with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Carlos Bautista in the fifth singles position. Junior Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (Spain) spotted USF a 3-0 lead with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Juan Matias Gonzalez at No. 4 singles.
Action continued on four courts and Pramming seized the moment by clinching match point. The senior from Copenhagen, Denmark was named the tournament's most outstanding player after ending his 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 80 Alejandro Espejo with an ace.
"Oliver has been a rock all year," Hill said. "He was hurt a little bit early on in the year and fought through some adversity. Once get got healthy mid-February, he has been running forward with his game and hasn't looked back."
USF will find out its seeding for the NCAA Championship during the Selection Show on Tuesday, April 28 at 5:30 p.m. The Bulls came within one victory of reaching the Round of 16 last season.
"This is the time of the year that we want to be playing our best tennis and I think everyone on the team - coaches and players - believes that's the case," Hill said. "We want to do something special this year in the NCAA tournament and I think the guys are poised to do that."
No. 1 USF 4, No. 2 Tulsa 0
4/19/15 at Tulsa, Okla. (Michael D. Case Tennis Center)
Doubles Competition
1. No. 31 Oliver Pramming/Justin Roberts (USF) def. Or Ram-Harel/Alejandro Espejo (TU), 6-3
2. Sasha Gozun/Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF) def. Matthew Kirby/Dylan McCloskey (TU), 6-3
3. Juan Matias Gonzalez/Carlos Bautista (TU) def. Roberto Cid/Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF), 6-3
(Order of Finish: 2,3,1*)
Singles Competition
1. No. 27 Or Ram-Harel (TU) vs. No. 22 Roberto Cid (USF), DNF
2. Oliver Pramming (USF) def. No. 80 Alejandro Espejo (TU), 6-4, 6-3
3. Mitchell Pritchard (TU) vs. Sasha Gozun (USF), DNF
4. Ignacio Gonzalez-Muniz (USF) def. Juan Matias Gonzalez (TU) 7-5, 6-2
5. Justin Roberts (USF) def. Carlos Bautista (TU), 6-4, 6-3
6. Dylan McCloskey (TU) vs. Vadym Kalyuzhnyy (USF), DNF
(Order of Finish: 5,4,2*)
