Bulls Beat Middle Tennessee 7-0 for First Shutout of the Season

Saturday, February 2

Tampa, FL

12:00 PM

University of South Florida

MTSU

Bulls Beat Middle Tennessee 7-0 for First Shutout of the Season

February 02, 2019 | Women's Tennis

Box Score

By: Michael Fergusson

TAMPA, Feb. 2, 2019 – Five of the six singles wins for the Bulls came in straight set victories, as the USF women's tennis team cruised to a 7-0 victory over the Middle Tennessee.

After USF (3-3), won the doubles point, freshman Amelie Boy (Trianon, Mauritis), came out with strength and ferocity. Boy only allowed her opponent, Luisa Zirilli (Messina, Italy), one game the entire match, as she coasted to a 6-1, 6-0 win on court five.

As this match was going on, senior Ana Roman Dominguez (Burgos, Spain), went into 12^th gear and, like Boy, only allowed her opponent, Costanza Magazzini (Pistoia, Italy), one game the entire match, winning on court one 6-0, 6-1. Roman Dominguez is now 6-0 at the premier spot.

Sophomore Evelyne Tiron (Bucharest, Romania), wished to extend the Bulls' lead, so she did exactly that. After beating junior Lidia Burrows (West Yorkshire, England) in the first set 6-2, the second set was tied at 1-1. That's when Tiron found her inner strength and scored two more set points to lead 4-2, and then score two unanswered set points to win her match 6-2, 6-2, on court two.

Senior Nicole Dzenga (Harare, Zimbabwe), battled hard for her first set point and won it in a tiebreaker round with a score of 7-6(2). Then in the second set she showed her ability to close by winning 6-4 on court six, to extend the USF lead to 5-0.

Freshman Laura Pellicer Perello (Gandia, Valencia, Spain), and senior Vanja Klaric (Gaborone, Botswana), were the last of the Bulls to round out their wins. Klaric had won her first set point 6-4, but had to fight for the second point to win her match. This second set went to a tiebreaker, where Klaric came out victorious with a 7-6(3) win, extending the Bulls lead to 6-0. Pellicer Perello was down in the first set 3-6, but then bounced back with two set wins on court four, winning 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

"I think we really took care of business today," said head coach Cristina Moros. "It was 7-0, but this was still a battle on the court."

Dzenga and Klaric clinched the doubles point for the second week in a row. Roman Dominguez and Boy won 6-1, while the team of Pellicer Perello and Clark fell 6-2. Not only did Dzenga and Klaric come in clutch for the second straight match, but the pair scored three consecutive doubles points to win 6-4 and secure the doubles point for the Bulls.

Match Results:
Singles
1. ROMAN, Ana (USF) def. Magazzini (MTSU) 6-0, 6-1
2. TIRON, Evelyne (USF) def. Burrows (MTSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. KLARIC, Vanja (USF) def. Kermet (MTSU) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
4. PELLICER PERELLO, L (USF) def. L. Barnard (MTSU) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. BOY, Amelie (USF) def. Zirilli (MTSU) 6-1, 6-0
6. DZENGA, Nicole (USF) def. Peris (MTSU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4

Doubles
1. DZENGA, Nicole/KLARIC, Vanja (USF) def. Kermet/Zirilli (MTSU) 6-4
2. BOY, Amelie/ROMAN, Ana (USF) def. L. Barnard/Magazzini (MTSU) 6-1
3. Peris/Burrows (MTSU) def. PELLICER PERELLO, L/CLARK, Janvhi (USF) 6-2

Match Notes:
Middle Tennessee State 1-5
South Florida 3-3
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (5,1,2,6,3,4)
Official: Tony Ruggiero T-2:43 A-81

Up Next:
USF will play UNF Sunday, Feb. 3, at noon at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.

Be sure to follow USF women's tennis on social media (Twitter / Facebook / Instagram) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. Head coach Cristina Moros will be in her fifth year at the helm, as she led the program to an American Athletic Conference Championship in 2017.

– #GoBulls –