USF Travels to Gainesville for ITA Kick-Off
TAMPA (Jan. 26, 2018) – The USF men's tennis team will open the ITA Kick-Off in Gainesville, Fla., against Pepperdine on Saturday at 6 p.m. On Sunday the Bulls will either face No. 9 Florida or South Alabama.
The Bulls (0-2) opened their season last weekend on the road against No. 13 Mississippi State and Tulsa. The defending American champions put up a tough fight on both occasions, but fell short.
Doubles has been nothing short of impressive, as the Bulls have clinched the doubles point in both of their matches so far this season. Against Mississippi State,
Peter Bertran (Santiago, Dominican Republic) and
Jakub Wojcik (Delray Beach, Fla.) defeated the No. 41 doubles team in the nation from Mississippi State, 7-6(5). Bertran also saw success against Tulsa, pairing with sophomore
Pierre Luquet (Draguignana, France) for a 6-4 win at No. 3.
Senior
Grayson Goldin (Bradeton, Fla.) and junior
Alberto Barroso-Campos (Montijo, Spain) have shined in doubles on court one. Together they defeated No. 49 Niclas Braun and Trevor Foshey, 6-3, at Mississippi State and Tulsa's top doubles pair, Jared Hing and Majed Kilani.
Scouting the Opponent:
Pepperdine
USF and Pepperdine are tied with three wins each after six meetings. The Bulls have defeated the Waves in the last three from 2014-16. The Waves have faced just one opponent this season in No. 6 UCLA. Pepperdine presents a strong doubles competition, fighting neck-and-neck with UCLA until the final points. The Waves ultimately fell in a 7-0 sweep. Pepperdine has one ranked singles player, No. 100 Dennis Uspensky.
No. 9 Florida
The Bulls trail Florida in all-time meetings, 48-3, dating back to 1966. The Gators boast three ranked singles players and five ranked doubles pairs. In singles: No. 7 Johannes Ingildsen, No. 8 Alfredo Perez, No. 39 Duarte Vale. In doubles: No. 1 Perez / Ingildsen, No. 10 Vale / McClain Kessler, No. 11 Chase Perez-Blanco / Oliver Crawford, No. 12 Andy Andrade/Perez-Blanco, No. 35 Kessler/Andrade.
South Alabama
The Jaguars are 1-0 this season after their home opener, a 6-1 victory over Xavier. South Alabama is coming off an impressive 23-6 finish in 2017 that featured a Sun Belt Conference runner-up finish. The Jaguars return two important components to their roster, sophomores Clement Marzol and Loic Cloes, both after injuries.
Up Next:
After the ITA Kick-Off the Bulls will head to Cambridge, Mass., for a doubleheader on Feb. 4, against Boston College (10 a.m.) and Harvard (2 p.m.).
Be sure to follow USF men's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information.
Head coach Ashley Fisher will begin his second year at the helm of the program for the 2018 season after leading the Bulls to a conference championship and the NCAA tournament in his first year as head coach during the 2017 season. The USF men's tennis program has won four consecutive American
– #GoBulls –
