TAMPA (March 17, 2016)— In a tight home contest with the No. 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes, the 16th-ranked USF men's tennis team fell, 4-3, Thursday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. USF is now 11-6 on the season with an 8-2 home record.
The Bulls have faced all but one ranked opponent this season, and are 10-6 in those matches. USF has played three Top 5 teams, but has been unsuccessful in taking down the higher ranked opponents.
USF faced an early deficit after dropping the doubles point. All three matches were extremely close, with the Buckeyes securing wins on courts one and two, both 6-4 results.
Ohio State jumped out to a 2-0 lead with a win on court six. USF would come back to tie the match at 2-all, thanks to Peter Bertan and Sasha Gozun.
On court four, Bertran used a straight set, 6-2, 6-2, victory over Diaz to cut the Buckeyes lead. Moments later, Gozun tacked on a 6-3, 6-3, straight set win to tie the match up.
The Buckeyes used wins on courts five and one to clinch the match. No. 4 Roberto Cid (14-2), facing No. 5 Mikael Torpegaard fell at the premier spot for just the second time this season, dropping a straight set match, 7-6, 6-1.
Despite the Buckeyes clinching, the final match would be played out as Dominic Cotrone battled back from a first-set loss to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2.
The Bulls get the weekend off and will be back in action for the USF Quad Tournament, March 25-27. USF will face VCU, Pepperdine and UNF in the tournament.
For more information on the USF men's tennis team, follow @USFBullsMTennis on Twitter.
