Bulls Ready for Weekend at Home against Charlotte and Mercer
TAMPA, Feb. 21, 2019 – Men's tennis returns from a week off, ready to challenge Charlotte, Friday at 1 p.m. and Mercer, Saturday at 1:30 p.m., at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
USF (4-4) returns to the Varsity Courts after a successful 2-0 weekend against Stetson, 7-0, and FAU, 4-3. These matches saw freshman
Tobias Sonne (Buenos Aires, Argentina) win his first match of the season, 7-6(3), 7-5 on court six, and No. 25
Alberto Barroso-Campos (Montijo, Spain) extend his season singles record to 7-1.
Scouting the Opponents
Charlotte
Charlotte (3-6) is led by head coach Jeremy Feldman, his third season in command. The 49ers have taken on two top 25 teams this season, falling 1-6 against No. 19 Tennessee and 2-4 to No. 22 Alabama.
Doubles pair Luca Keist (Rothrist, Switzerland) and Constandinos Christoforou (Limasoll, Cyprus) recently jumped 33 spots in the ITA doubles rankings, now No. 18 in the nation. The pair is 7-2 on court one, defeating the fourth-ranked, 15
th ranked and 41
st ranked doubles teams, from Penn State, Princeton and Tennessee, respectively.
No. 107 Keist is the highest ranked player in Conference USA, with a singles record of 4-5 and 7-2 on doubles. The sophomore finished the 2018 season No. 117 in ITA and was the first Charlotte player named Conference USA Freshman of the Year since Roy Sichel in 2005.
Mercer
The Bears (3-6) travel to USF, with Eric Hayes in his sixth season at the helm. Mercer fell, 7-0, to its only ranked opponent of the season, No. 20 Florida State.
2018 season saw All-Southern Conference Singles and Doubles First Team Honors for Olivier Stuart (Bussy Saint-Georges, France). The junior led the conference in singles winning percentages (.786) and become the first men's team Bear to compete in the ITA Masters. Stuart currently leads Mercer in singles with a 6-3 record at court one. He also leads in doubles with partner Nicolas Guillon (Draveil, France), 5-3, on the top court.
About Men's Tennis
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 third year at the helm of the program for the 2019 season after leading the Bulls to their fifth straight appearance in The American Championship.
– #GoBulls –
