TAMPA, Fla – The Wichita State men's tennis team fell, 7-0, to South Florida Sunday at the USF Varsity Tennis Courts.
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The Shockers' doubles comeback came up short as
Orel Ovil and
Misha Kvantaliani won two-straight games after being down 5-2 at No. 2, but the Bulls claimed the first doubles court, 6-4, before
Kristof Minarik and
Alejandro Jacome evened the doubles contest with a 7-5 court three win in their first doubles match as a pair. With the doubles point coming down to No. 1,
Alex Richards and
Luke Bracks battled back from down 4-1 to have the chance to tie it at 5 all but the Bulls finished them off 6-4 to clinch the doubles point.
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Down 1-0 going into the singles, the Shockers were down on just two courts within the first four games, but South Florida claimed first-set wins on all six courts, including tiebreaker wins on four (Jacome) and five (Richards).
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The Bulls took the first singles point on court three after Ovil fell in the second set despite  a hard-fought tiebreaker (6-3, 7-6 (8-6)). South Florida clinched the match with success at courts four and six.
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Playing the match out, Minarik fell in straight sets, 6-3, 7-6 (4), Kvantaliani took his match to a third set and lost, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, and Richards dropped both his sets in tiebreakers, 7-6 (4), 7-6 (4), completing the sweep for the Bulls.
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Wichita State remains on the road for a match against Tulsa Friday, Mar. 31 at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
#60 South Florida 7, Wichita St. 0
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Singles competition
1. Davide Tortora (USFM) def.
Kristof Minarik (WSU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-4)
2. Alvin Tudorica (USFM) def.
Misha Kvantaliani (WSU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
3. Erik Grevelius (USFM) def.
Orel Ovil (WSU) 6-1, 7-6 (8-6)
4. Bruno Oliveira (USFM) def.
Alejandro Jacome (WSU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-2
5. Elijah Cham (USFM) def.
Alex Richards (WSU) 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4)
6. Thomas Pavlekovich-S (USFM) def.
Luke Bracks (WSU) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
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Doubles competition
1. Davide Tortora/Bruno Oliveira (USFM) def.
Alex Richards/
Luke Bracks (WSU) 6-4
2. Erik Grevelius/Alvin Tudorica (USFM) def.
Orel Ovil/
Misha Kvantaliani (WSU) 6-4
3.
Alejandro Jacome/
Kristof Minarik (WSU) def. Thomas Pavlekovich-S/Tom Pisane (USFM) 7-5
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Match Notes:
Wichita St. 9-12
South Florida 11-9; National ranking #60
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (3,4,6,1,2,5)
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