Bulls move on into second round

The University of South Florida women’s tennis team moved on to the second round of the Conference USA Tournament in Fort Worth, Texas by squashing Saint Louis Thursday.

The sixth-seeded Bulls, ranked 68th in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, made quick work of the 11th-seeded Billikens, finishing them off 4-0.

The Bulls took Nos. 2 and 3 doubles to win the point and were leading at No. 1 when outcome was decided.

The bottom of the Bulls’ singles lineup demolished the Billikens as senior Jackie Spicijaric won at No. 5, 6-0, 6-1 and Patricia Kolendo won at No. 6, 6-0, 6-3.

Ashlee Callahan gave USF the four points they needed for the victory, and Natalie Schwartz and Jennifer Sinclair were leading in their matches when the match was stopped.

USF advances to meet Marquette at 9 a.m. today. The Golden Eagles came to Tampa and knocked off the Bulls 4-3 March 30.Last year as the third seed, the Bulls advanced to the semifinals but lost to Tulane and Marquette to finish in fourth place.

During the 2001 regular season, USF polished off Marquette 5-2, but the Golden Eagles responded with a 5-2 victory of their own in the third-place match in last year’s C-USA Tournament.

A Bulls’ victory would push them into the semifinals where they would face either No. 2 DePaul or No. 7 UAB.