USF Athletics

Bulls Continue Four-Game Road Stretch Against Clemson, Auburn

January 22, 2021

Bulls Continue Four-Game Road Stretch Against Clemson, Auburn
 
MATCHUP: South Florida at Clemson; South Florida vs. Auburn
WHEN: Saturday, Jan. 23 at 2 p.m.; Sunday, Jan. 24 at 11 a.m
LOCATION: Clemson, S.C
WATCH/STATS: https://bit.ly/3qCtQex
 
TAMPA, Jan. 22, 2021 – University of South Florida men's tennis is back on the road continuing a four-match road stretch to begin the season. This weekend, the Bulls battle against two different Tiger squads in Clemson and Auburn in search of their first win of the year. 
 
USF is coming off a challenging matchup to begin the season, facing No. 9 Florida on the road. The Bulls won the doubles point, but were swept in singles in the 6-1 loss. The No. 21 duo of Jakub Wojcik and Rithvik Bollipalli earned a ranked win in doubles play, defeating the No. 45 pair of Duarte Vale and Sam Riffice. 
 
South Florida begins the weekend against Clemson on Saturday, with a first serve at 2 p.m., followed by a meeting with Auburn on Sunday at 11 a.m. Both matches will occur in Clemson, S.C. 
 
Scouting Clemson
Clemson (2-0) opened the season with a sweep at the Duckworth Classic. The team swept Chattanooga in a 7-0 victory and took down Wofford, 6-1. Clemson head coach Robbie Weiss is in his second season with Clemson and last season led the squad to its first ITA ranking since 2016, peaking at No. 40 during the 2020 season. 
 
Junior Teodor Giusca and senior Yizhou Liu both have spent a match on the first singles court, each posting a 1-0 record on court on and 2-0 overall. Freshman Ryuhei Azuma and junior Jacob Jahn pair for the spot on the premier doubles court and have won both of their sets so far this year. 
 
USF last battled Clemson in 1995, and the Tigers hold a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series. 
 
Scouting Auburn
Auburn (1-0) kicked off its season with a 6-1 win against Samford. Head coach Bobby Reynolds currently holds a 47-62 record in his fifth season. 
 
Second-year freshman Tyler Stice earned the nod on the first singles court in the match against Samford. He currently holds a 9-7 singles record, mostly on courts two and three. Junior Tad Maclean and second-year freshman Finn Murgett paired for the spot on the premier doubles court. This is their first spring season paired together. 
 
Bulls are looking to snap their 8-match losing streak against Auburn on neutral territory. This will be their first meeting since 2012. 
 
Quotable
Head coach Ashley Fisher on this weekend…
"We are excited to compete this weekend and build off a lot of the positives from last weekend. Clemson and Auburn are teams on the rise and this will be a good test to find out where we are. If we all dig in like we are capable of doing we can expect some good things to happen"
 
 
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 fifth year at the helm of the program for the 2021 season.
– #GoBulls –