The USF men’s tennis team started a new winning streak Tuesday as it beat the Murray State Racers 7-0, recording their second sweep in a row.

Paco Antelo led the charge for USF (10-3) by beating Murray State’s Adam Maskill 6-3, 6-0.

“I started out pretty slow, and then I got a break and gained more confidence for the second set,” Antelo said. “It was a good win overall for the team. Hopefully, we can continue our streak as we play Iowa (today) and Florida State on Friday.”

Antelo did not participate Saturday against Dartmouth. However, he play in an exhibition match.

In the No. 1 doubles match, seniors Nadim Naser and Jorge Escallon teamed up to beat the Racers’ doubles combo of Maskill and Masimba Muskew 8-6.

“Nadim and Jorge played great solid tennis,” USF coach Don Barr said. “They work well together as a doubles team. They definitely showed their senior mentality out there today.”

Overall, coach Barr said he was very pleased with the play of his young Bulls.

“Murray State is one of the top teams in the Ohio Valley Conference. They have a good shot of winning their conference,” Barr said. “The guys really enjoy being on the court and battling. They stay in all their matches and settle into what they need to do. I can see the maturity growing in the guys.”

Today, the Bulls, ranked 25th in the country, will take on the No. 74 Iowa Hawkeyes (3-4, 0-3 in the Big 10) at 2 p.m. at the Varsity Tennis Courts.

Mathew Ratner

Modest goals

The USF women’s tennis team has low expectations for their match against No. 19 Clemson Tigers today at 2.

The Tigers come into the match 11-2 overall and have won their past five matches.

“I have set the goal of winning two or three games in each set, and if we do that, I’ll be very happy,” USF coach Gigi Fernandez said.

The Bulls have had a week off since their last match against Marquette, so they have had time to get ready.

Fernandez hopes that her team can win four of its next five matches.

“We can’t beat a ranked team,” Fernandez said. “We are just hoping to get a look at one of the nations top-20 teams.”

It’s been a tough year for the Bulls as shown by their record, which is 6-8. However, they are currently 3-1 in Conference USA.

USF will continue its C-USA play next week with three league matches.

Roy Sherman