TAMPA (February 4, 2025) – The University of South Florida Men's tennis team (3-2) lost to the #22 UCF Knights (8-0) in a tight battle with a score of 3-4 on Monday, February 3, at home. The grueling match took around four hours to complete, coming down to two courts taken to three sets.   
 
The Bulls lost the doubles point with Doubles 1 and 3, losing 2-6. Tom Pavlekovich-Smith and Hugo Car took Doubles 2 with a 6-4 win. This set up UCF with the starting point before heading into singles.  
 
The Bulls dropped two courts fast, giving the UCF Knights the 3-0 advantage. Hugo Car on Court 1 came in swiftly with a win of 6-1, 6-3 to put the Bulls on the board. Stepan Mruzek followed up on Court 6 with a big win of 6-3,6-3 to lessen the gap for the Bulls. UCF still had 3 points on the board, but now the Bulls had 2.
 
The match came down to the final two courts. Gughi Verdese on Court 6 lost his first set, 3-6, and then battled to a successful tiebreak in the second set, 7-6 (8-6) to give the Bulls hope. Elijah Cham also lost his first set on Court 2, 4-6, before fighting back and winning 6-4. Both Bulls started the third sets off strong. Court 2 fell short losing 4-6, giving UCF the final point they needed. Gughi Verdese finished the match with a swift third set, making his final score 3-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1, and making the final score USF 3, UCF 4.  
 
About USF Men's Tennis
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Head coach Ashley Fisher is in his ninth year at the helm of the program for the 2024-25 season. Fischer has guided the Bulls to four NCAA Tournaments, including three trips to the second round. He was named the American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year in 2017 & 2019 after leading USF to the conference title in each of those seasons.