By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer
TAMPA - The Bulls already had solid week heading into Sunday's action and turned it into an amazing one at the USF Varsity Courts.
The USF men's tennis team extended its winning streak to three with a convincing 6-1 victory over Big East foe Marquette. Head coach Don Barr's squad didn't drop a set in consecutive 7-0 decisions over in-state rival UCF and Illinois State heading into the final match of the week.
"They've put their goal down of getting better every time they step on the court," said Barr after his team won for the fifth time in its past six matches.
USF knew coming in that Marquette was going to bring it and the Bulls made sure the momentum remained on their side by setting the tone early.
Federico Sabogal and Wael Kilani made quick work of their opponents in the No. 2 doubles spot with an 8-1 victory. Yannick Yoshizawa and Oliver Pramming, USF's top doubles duo, provided the point-clincher with and 8-4 win, while Guillermo De Vilchez and Sebastian Hagn put the icing on the cake by beating Cameron Tehrani and Jonathan Schwerin in a tiebreaker, 8-7 (7-5).
USF followed with straight-set wins in the top four singles spots to put the match away and Pramming showed his ability to bounce back by defeating Drake Kakar, 6-0, 4-6, 6-0, in the No. 6 slot. The only loss of the week for USF belonged to Ravi Patel, who hung tight before dropping a tiebreaker against Schwerin.
"They were coming after us. We didn't panic and closed out the matches really well," Barr said.
The Bulls will close out their regular season at the USF Varsity Courts on Friday with a 2 p.m. test against MTSU. USF gets to stay at home afterward to host the Big East Tournament on Thursday, April 19.
USF 6, Marquette 1
USF Varsity Courts
Tampa, Florida
Doubles
1. Y. Yoshizawa/O. Pramming (USF) def. D. Mamalat/J. Schwerin (MU) 8-4
2. F. Sabogal/W. Kilani (USF) def. L. Collins/D. Packowitz (MU) 8-1
3. G. De Vilchez/S. Hagn (USF) def. C. Tehrani/V. Teofanovic 8-7 (7-5)
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3
Singles
1. Wael Kilani (USF) def. Dan Mamalat (MU) 6-3, 6-2
2. Yannick Yoshizawa (USF) Vukasin Teofanovic (MU) 7-5, 6-2
3. Federico Sabogal (USF) def. Logon Collins (MU) 6-2, 6-2
4. Juan Carlos Acuna Gerard (USF) Cameron Tehrani (MU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Jonathan Schwerin (MU) def. Ravi Patel (USF) 6-2, 3-6, 10-3
6. Oliver Pramming (USF) def. Drake Kakar (MU) 6-0, 4-6, 6-0
Order of Finish: 1, 6, 3, 4, 2,
