Womens tennis to host UCF today

After playing its first six matches on the road, the USF women’s tennis team will finally get a chance to play at home Wednesday.

So far, the team’s complicated travel schedule has included stops in Atlanta, Gainesville, Los Angeles, San Diego and Richmond, Va.

All six matches this season have been against opponents in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association top 50.

That will change when the No. 32 Bulls (1-5) host unranked rivals UCF (3-2) today.

Senior Irene Rehberger has struggled to a 2-3 record this season playing in the No. 1 spot. She is ranked No. 52 by the ITA.

Two other Bulls – Janette Bejikova and Ecaterina Vasenina – are also ranked as singles players.

Bejikova, a junior from the Czech Republic, is No. 62 in the rankings. Vasenina, a sophomore from the Republic of Moldova, sits at No. 124.

The doubles pairing of Bejikova and freshman Loreto Alonso Martinez is ranked No. 20 by the ITA.

Play is scheduled to begin on the USF Varsity Tennis Courts at 2 p.m.

Men’s golf finishes 10th

A team score of 295 strokes – 7-over par – was strong enough to move USF into a tie for sixth place after the second round of the Mobile Bay Intercollegiate Tournament on Monday.

But the same score wasn’t enough for USF to avoid other teams moving up the standings around it. The Bulls placed 10th out of 15 participating schools.

Middle Tennessee State left with the tournament title, winning by 11 strokes over runner-up Kentucky.

USF’s aggregate score of 890 was 27 strokes off Middle Tennessee’s winning pace.

Aaron Fitzpatrick, USF’s No. 5 player, had the best individual score among USF players, tied for 20th with a cumulative score of 221. Fitzpatrick, a sophomore transfer from Texas Tech, opened the tournament with a 5-over-par 77, posting even-par 72s in both of the following rounds.

From top to bottom, all five members of the USF team finished within 10 strokes of one another.

Sophomore Devin Hernandez tied for 31st with 223, followed by junior Rick Kittelstad, who posted a score of 226, good for a tie for 44th.

Junior Devin Patel, who was named Big East Golfer of the Week for his performance at The Match Play a week ago, tied for 59th with a score of 229.

Freshman Bodi Karsono finished tied for 67th with 231 strokes.

The Bulls will return to action at the USF Invitational, which begins March 4 at Lake Jovita Country Club in Dade City.