TAMPA, Feb. 08, 2020 – USF men's tennis dominated the Stetson Hatters today, 7-0, in its 2020 home opener at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. Today's win extends the Bulls' streak of victories in home openers to 14 years, dating back to 2006.
 
South Florida (5-2) began the day with a doubles point triumph, its fifth of the season. Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (Barcelona, Spain) joined Ivan Yatsuk (Minsk, Belarus) on the third court to defeat Stetson's Clement Hamel and Alexandre Hillhouse, 6-3. Chase Ferguson (Melbourne, Australia) and Pierre Luquet (Draguignan, France) sealed the deal with a court one win against Sven Thiergard and Fabian Penzkofer, 6-4. Rithvik Bollipalli (Hyderabad, India) and Niels Van Noord (Quebec, Canada) played out action on the second court where they won, 7-5, over Josh Laka and Tim Gennes. 
 
USF started its march to victory with wins on courts one and three. Ferguson cleaned up the top court against Clement Hamel in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, while Muniz-Hidalgo kept the pace with a win over Fabian Penzkofer on court three, 6-3, 6-2.
 
With the match now 3-0 in the Bulls' favor, action continued on the four remaining courts. Niels Van Noord took on Stetson's Josh Laka on court six in his first start of the season. Despite winning the first set, 6-2, Van Noord found himself struggling in the second, 5-1. After locking in and winning four straight games to tie the set at 5-5, the sophomore took the next two games as well to win the set, 7-5, and clinch the match for the Bulls.
 
Luquet earned a win on court two over Hillhouse, 6-2, 6-4, and Gomez-Montesa finished his first singles start with a defeat of Gennes on court five, 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (7).
 
With all other matches completed, eyes turned to Rithvik Bollipalli as he continued on the fourth court against Sven Thiergard. The sophomore fought hard after a second set loss to secure the shutout for USF, 6-1, 6-7, 1-0 (8). 
 
Quotable
Head coach Ashley Fisher on the first home win of the season…
 
"Today was a good test for us and we came through with flying green and gold colors! We treat every match with the same intensity and mindset that is focused on competing relentlessly and playing every point. We did that well today. It was nice that some of our guys stepped up and took care of business which made it more comfortable for the guys that were in battles. We were very happy with what we saw from Niels and Sergio, who was such a big part of last year's success and continues to work towards playing his best tennis. We have a lot of respect for Stetson and the direction they are headed and see them as a process-based program that is sacrificing for each other and their University."
 
Match Results
Singles
1. Chase Ferguson (USF) def. Clement Hamel (STET) 6-2, 6-2
2. Pierre Luquet (USF) def. Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) 6-2, 6-4
3. Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (USF) def. Fabian Penzkofer (STET) 6-3, 6-2
4. Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) def. Sven Thiergard (STET) 6-1, 6-7, 1-0 (10-8)
5. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF) def. Tim Gennes (STET) 3-6, 6-4, 1-0 (10-7)
6. Niels Van Noord (USF) def. Josh Laka (STET) 6-2, 7-5
 
Doubles
1. Chase Ferguson/Pierre Luquet (USF) def. Sven Thiergard/Fabian Penzkofer (STET) 6-4
2. Josh Laka/Tim Gennes (STET) vs. Rithvik Bollipalli/Niels Van Noord (USF) no result
3. Ivan Yatsuk/Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (USF) def. Clement Hamel/Alexandre Hillhouse (STET) 6-3
 
Up Next
The Bulls enjoy a brief break before traveling to the Lone Star State for SMU in Dallas on Feb. 21 and TCU in Fort Worth, Texas on Feb. 23.
 

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