TAMPA, FLA. MARCH 6, 2016 – The 17th-ranked USF men's tennis team went toe-to-toe with No. 19 Michigan, pulling out a nail-biting 4-3 win Sunday afternoon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
Roberto Cid (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic), ranked No. 5 in the nation, solidified his resume with a 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 victory over No. 60 Jathan Malik to clinch the match for the Bulls. Cid showed his composure after dropping the first set, and improved his record to 11-1 with eight wins against ranked opponents.
“I think that's what the best players in the world do, they find ways to win when they're not feeling well or not at their best,” head coach Matt Hill said. “I thought (Jathan) Malik from Michigan did a nice job with his strategy, his plan and how he executed what he needed to do. I thought obviously Roberto did a good job of staying the course and then being resilient until the time was right, I thought he did a good job of finishing it out at the end.”
After winning in straight sets on Saturday, Justin Roberts (Nassau, Bahamas) picked up where he left off, winning 6-1,7-6 (7-5). The third USF point of the day came from Sasha Gozun (Orhei, Moldova), who rallied back from a first set loss to defeat Carter Lin 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The Bulls captured the doubles point after victories on courts one and three. The 46th-ranked tandem of Dominic Cotrone (Bradenton, Fla.) and Roberts started fast and led 5-0, before winning the set, 6-4. Peter Bertran and Everth Dzib were paired in the third position, and clinched the doubles point for USF with a 7-5 result.
USF will host a Spring Break Tournament from March 11-13 at the Varsity Tennis Courts. The Bulls will face Penn State, Friday, March 11, at 2:30 p.m.
For more information on the USF men's tennis program, follow @USFBullsMTennis on Twitter.
