Doubles matches continue to pose problems for USF
Doubles competition has remained a constant struggle throughout the season for the USF men’s tennis team, and it was a factor again as the No. 37 Bulls fell 4-1 to No. 28 Auburn on Thursday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
It was the fourth year in a row USF has lost to the Tigers.
“It’s hard playing with a lot of people,” said USF senior Mahmoud Hamed. “It’s very important to play good doubles with someone. You have to be good friends or understand each other on the court, and it only comes with time.”
Hamed has played with two teammates in his four doubles matches, and coaches have rotated three teams in the No. 3 doubles position.
“The reason for (switching teammates) is not so much Mahmoud,” said coach Tamer El Sawy. “It’s the performance of his partner.”
Despite the loss, South Florida defeated UCF 6-1 on Saturday in Orlando.
Freshman Mark Oljaca and Hamed lost 7-4 in a tiebreaker against Auburn’s Michel Monteiro and Milan Krnjetin.
However, coach Don Barr chose Alex Pukal and Arzhang Derakshani to compete against Central Florida’s Tarek Ben Soltane and Eugene Dolgovykh and the freshmen won 8-4.
“They’ve been playing well. I was kind of experimenting a little bit,” Barr said of Pukal and Derakshani. “I haven’t been real happy with our No. 2 and No. 3 doubles … Our new guys were a little bit hungry and played well all week.”
Barr said the team’s ability to bounce back from losses to win at UCF impressed him.
“They just battled hard and came out on top,” he said. “It was a good sign — a good test of mental and physical character.”
More Stories
Meet the Team
Oracle EditorProfile
USF gives it away in Memphis 34-33
At the half, a 14-point lead meant USF was on track to win its first conference game in over a calendar year. That energy was kept up even with under five minutes to go when the Bulls were up 33-20. Then USF watched as its lead went from comfortable, to slim, to nonexistent in the […]
Club teams missing competition, friendship due to COVID-19
Under normal circumstances, Grant Nolder, president of the USF flag football team would be preparing for the club’s biggest competition of the year, the Swamp Bowl. The annual tournament, hosted at UF, typically takes place during the fall semester and features some of the best club flag football teams in the country. Winners of the […]
Bulls battle with ECU in OT win
Coach Brian Gregory said Tuesday the Bulls didn’t play complete, 40-minute games in their two losses last week. It’s debatable if they did Wednesday night against East Carolina (11-18, 5-11) at the Yuengling Center, but it was more than enough to put up a 73-68 overtime win. “It’s funny. There were stretches where we played […]
First SG scholarship rewards student leaders
Student Government (SG) launched the first-of-its-kind, merit-based scholarship to students Nov. 5 on USF’s Tampa campus. As a part of Student Body President Britney Deas and Student Body Vice President Travis McCloskey’s platform, Bull S.H.I.F.T., — Success, Health, Innovation, Finance and Tradition — the SG’s Student Leadership Scholarship consists of two merit-based scholarships which will […]
On-campus Jabil institute sparks anticipation from students
A plan drafted on a bar napkin two years ago has now become the USF Jabil Innovation Institute, a multi-million dollar institute combining the College of Engineering and the Muma College of Business. Senior Vice President of Advancement and CEO of the USF Foundation Joel Momberg and Jabil CEO Mark Mondello jotted the idea down […]