TAMPA, MARCH 11, 2020 – USF men's tennis improved to 9-4 with 4-0 and 5-2 wins over Penn and UNCW on a busy Wednesday for the host Bulls.
 
"We are always emphasizing growth and looking to keep the trajectory going the right way," said head coach Ashley Fisher. "We want to be in as many situations outside our comfort zone as possible and playing a doubleheader in 82-degree weather against quality teams ticks that box. We have a lot of belief in our team, but we know it won't be easy achieving our goals and that's the way we want it. We grew as a team today and that's what this is all about."
 
 
USF 4, Penn 0
The Bulls earned the doubles point against Penn (6-7) in a timely fashion to set the pace for their first win of the day. Pierre Luquet (Draguignan, France) and Chase Ferguson (Melbourne, Australia) took down Edorado Graziani and Jason Hildebrandt on court two, 6-0. The tandem improved to 9-1 with their seventh straight victory.
 
Jakub Wojcik (Delray Beach, Fla.) and Rithvik Bollipalli (Hyderabad, India) secured the doubles point for the third time this season with a 7-5 win over Kevin Zhu and Dmitry Shatalin on court one.
 
Sergio Gomez Montesa (Valencia, Spain) earned the first singles point for USF with a 6-1, 6-2, win on court six against Zach Smith. It marked the fourth straight victory for the sophomore.
 
Luquet defeated Jason Hildebrandt, 6-2, 7-5, to push the Bulls closer to victory. Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (Barcelona, Spain) clinched the match with a win on court four over Aditya Gupta, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
 
 
USF 5, UNCW 2
After USF dropped the doubles point, Sergio Gomez Montesa answered for the Bulls in singles with a 6-1, 6-0, court-six finish against Cole Groetsch. Chase Ferguson picked up his third straight win on the premiere court over Bruno Caula, 6-3, 6-1.
 
Pierre Luquet cleaned up court three across from Leonardo Sprovieri 6-2, 6-0, improving his season record to 8-5. Jakub Wojcik battled hard in a court-two comeback versus Austin Hussey, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3, to clinch the USF win.
 
Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo retired hurt at 4-1 in the third set of his match on court five, giving a point to the Seahawks. Ivan Yatsuk defeated Michael Copeland, 7-5, 1-6, 6-4, to finish the 5-2 victory for USF.  
 
 
Penn Match Results
Singles
1. Edorado Graziani (PENN) vs. Chase Ferguson (USF) no result
2. Kevin Zhu (PENN) vs. Jakub Wojcik (USF) no result
3. Pierre Luquet (USF) def. Jason Hildebrandt (PENN) 6-2, 7-5
4. Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (USF) def. Aditya Gupta (PENN) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
5. Harsh Parikh (PENN) vs. Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) no result
6. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF) def. Zach Smith (PENN) 6-1, 6-2
 
Doubles
1. #31 Jakub Wojcik/Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) def. Kevin Zhu/Dmitry Shatalin (PENN) 7-5
2. Chase Ferguson/Pierre Luquet (USF) def. Edorado Graziani/Jason Hildebrandt (PENN) 6-0
3. Ivan Yatsuk/Antonio Muniz-Hidalgo (USF) def. Harsh Parikh/Zach Smith (PENN) 7-6 (0-4)
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (6,3,4)
 
UNCW Match Results
Singles
1. Chase Ferguson (USF) def. Bruno Caula (UNCW) 6-3, 6-1
2. Jakub Wojcik (USF) def. Austin Hussey (UNCW) 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
3. Pierre Luquet (USF) def. Leonardo Sprovieri (UNCW) 6-2, 6-0
4. Daniel Groom (UNCW) def. Antonio Muniz (USF) 2-6, 7-6, 4-1- retired hurt
5. Ivan Yatsuk (USF) def. Michael Copeland (UNCW) 7-5, 1-6, 6-4
6. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF) def. Cole Groetsch (UNCW) 6-1, 6-0
 
Doubles
1. #62 Bruno Caula/Daniel Groom (UNCW) def. #31 Jakub Wojcik/Rithvik Bollipalli (USF) 6-3
2. Cole Groetsch/Dillon Gooch (UNCW) def. Chase Ferguson/Pierre Luquet (USF) 7-5
3. Ivan Yatsuk/Antonio Muniz (USF) def. Michael Copeland/Michael Morphy (UNCW) 6-4
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (6,1,3,2,4,5)
 
 
Up Next
The Bulls are back at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts for South Alabama on Friday at 2 p.m. before returning to take on North Florida, Sunday at 11 a.m.
 
 
About Men's Tennis