Match Details
No. 60 South Florida 7, Wichita State 0
South Florida (11-9), Wichita State (9-12)
Sunday, March 26, 2023 | 1:30 p.m.
Tampa, Fla. | USF Varsity Tennis Courts
 
TAMPA (March 26, 2023) – The No. 60-ranked University of South Florida men's tennis team won its fifth-straight match, and seventh in its last eight outings, as it took down Wichita State, 7-0, on Sunday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts. The Bulls improve to 11-9 on the year while the Shockers fall to 9-12.
 
Despite the final score, South Florida had a battle on its hands during the afternoon as all three courts in doubles were a factor and all six courts in singles either went three sets or included a tiebreaker.
 
The Bulls seemingly got off to a fast start during the doubles portion of the match, with the tandem of Erik Grevelius and Alvin Tudorica leading 5-1 on court two and Davide Tortora and Bruno Oliveira up 3-1 on court one. The Shockers, however, came back and turned the early part of the contest into a slugfest.
 
Wichita State came back on court two, winning three-straight points to cut the South Florida lead to just 5-4 and then stretched the match to 40-all before the Bulls pulled it out in the end.  
 
After the Bulls' Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith and Tom Pisane dropped a hard-fought match on court three, 5-7, the doubles point came down to Tortora and Oliveira on court one.  
 
The duo held off the Shockers' comeback that took the set to 5-4 and closed out the doubles point with a 6-4 win and a 1-0 lead.
 
In singles, Grevelius picked up his eighth win of the season but was tested on court three. The transfer from Georgia turned in a straightforward 6-1 win in the first set but had to tough out a 7-6 (8-6) win in the second in a tiebreaker to put South Florida up 2-0 on the afternoon.
 
Like Grevelius, Oliveira took his court – court four – in straight sets, pulling out a first-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (7-5) before coasting to a 6-2 win in the second set, pulling the Bulls to within one point from a victory with the deciding court being court six and Pavlekovich-Smith.
 
Pavlekovich-Smith's court was one of two during the afternoon to go three sets. He took the first set, 6-3, however, dropped the second by the same score. Pavlekovich-Smith, however, stepped up in the third set and secured the win for South Florida with a commanding 6-1 win.
 
All though the match was not in doubt, the Bulls and Shockers finished the remaining courts that were in play.
 
Tortora took court one, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4) while Tudorica got the win on court two in three sets, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.  
 
Elijah Cham pulled out the final win of the afternoon in two sets but in a match that outlasted the other five in singles. Cham took court five 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4). 
 
Doubles
1. Davide Tortora/Bruno Oliveira (USF) def. Alex Richards/Luke Bracks (WSU) 6-4
2. Erik Grevelius/Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. Orel Ovil/Misha Kvantaliani (WSU) 6-4
3. Alejandro Jacome/Kristof Minarik (WSU) def. Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith/Tom Pisane (USF) 7-5
 
Singles
1. Davide Tortora (USF) def. Kristof Minarik (WSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Alvin Tudorica (USF) def. Misha Kvantaliani (WSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3. Erik Grevelius (USF) def. Orel Ovil (WSU) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
4. Bruno Oliveira (USF) def. Alejandro Jacome (WSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Elijah Cham (USF) def. Alex Richards (WSU) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
6. Thomas Pavlekovich-Smith (USF) def. Luke Bracks (WSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,6,1,2,5)
 
Up Next
South Florida returns to the USF Varsity Tennis Courts one week from today, April 2 at 1:30 when it faces No. 47-ranked SMU.
 
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?is in his seventh year at the helm of the program for the 2022-23 season.