Match Details
No. 54 South Florida 4, No. 50 VCU 2
South Florida (9-9), Cornell (11-5)
Sunday, March 27, 2022 | 11 a.m.
Tampa, Fla. | USF Varsity Tennis Courts
 
TAMPA (March 27, 2022) – The University of South Florida men's tennis team closed out its 2022 home schedule on Sunday with a big 4-2 win over No. 50-ranked Cornell at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
 
The Bulls, who are ranked No. 54 in the most recent ITA national rankings and have played their last four matches against top 50 teams, improve to 9-9 on the year while Cornell falls to 11-5.
 
The Bulls found themselves facing adversity early on in the doubles portion of the match, trailing 3-1 on all three courts against the Big Red.
 
Chase Ferguson and Ivan Yatsuk trailed in their match on court two before battling back to win, 6-3. Cornell, however, had a quick answer and returned the favor on court one against Rithvik Bollipalli and Bruno Oliveira who are ranked ninth in the latest ITA national doubles rankings. USF's pair were unable to overcome the Big Red's No. 31-ranked duo of Alafia Ayeni and Vladislav Melnic who came out on top, 6-3.   
 
The doubles point eventually came down to court three and South Florida's Sergio Gomez Montesa and Alvin Tudorica who came into the day with a 9-5 record as a pair. The tandem fought back from a 1-3 deficit to secure the match, 6-4, and put the Green and Gold up, 1-0 in the dual.
 
In singles, South Florida came out of the gate fast looking to put the Big Red away quickly. Tudorica continued his dominating play winning his 11^th-straight match with a 6-0, 6-4 victory on court five to improve to an impressive 12-2 on the year, then Antonio Muniz gave the Bulls a 3-0 lead in the dual with a 6-4, 6-4 win on court three.
 
Cornell, however, didn't go away easily, winning on court one (1-6, 6-3, 7-5) and court four (2-6, 6-4, 6-4) over Ivan Yatsuk and Sergio Gomez Montesa, respectively, to cut the South Florida lead to one, 3-2.
 
Chase Ferguson then clinched the match for the Bulls on court two with a hard-fought 1-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2 come from behind victory.
 
Tom Pisane also found himself in a battle on court six (2-6, 7-6 {7-4}, 4-4) when Ferguson closed out the Big Red.
 
Quotable – USF Head Coach Ashley Fisher
"(I'm) Proud of our guys today for finding a way to get through. We were down on all three courts in doubles and took the point and then Chase (Ferguson) and Tom (Pisane) were able to save match points in singles. That's the sort of grit and fight we are known for and it was nice to see the guys dig deep today on senior day."

Up Next
The Bulls begin a regular-season ending five-match road stretch on April 1 at 1 p.m. when they travel to New Orleans to face Tulane.

Match Results
Doubles
1. Alafia Ayeni/Vladislav Melnic (CU) def. Rithvik Bollipalli/Bruno Oliveira (USF) 6-3
2. Chase Ferguson/Ivan Yatsuk (USF) def. Nathan Mao/Adit Sinha (CU) 6-3
3. Sergio Gomez Montesa/Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. Radu Papoe/Muhammad Dossani (CU) 6-4
 
Order of finish for doubles (2,1,3)
 
Singles
1. Alafia Ayeni (CU) def. Ivan Yatsuk (USF) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
2. Chase Ferguson (USF) def. Vladislav Melnic (CU) 1-6, 7-6 (9-7), 6-2
3. Antonio Muniz (USF) def. Radu Papoe (CU) 6-4, 6-4
4. Pietro Rimondini (CU) def. Sergio Gomez Montesa (USF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
5. Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. Samuel Paquette (CU) 6-0, 6-4
6. Tom Pisane (USF) vs. Nathan Mao (CU) 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 4-4, Unfinished
 
Order of finish for singles (5,3,1,4,2)

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 sixth year at the helm of the program for the 2021-22 season.