Davis wins eighth in a row, No. 56 Blue Raiders fall to No. 72 USF

TAMPA, Fla. - Ben Davis extended his singles winning streak to eight matches and the No. 56 Blue Raider men’s tennis team swept doubles action, but the No. 72 USF Bulls pulled out the 5-2 victory on Friday afternoon at the USF Varsity Courts. Davis earned a 6-2, 6-2 win in the top slot and also paired with Christoph Lang for a 9-8 win in doubles action.

“We will take this as a great learning opportunity for our freshman,” head coach Jimmy Borendame said. “It will only make us stronger against UCF and at the Sun Belt Championships next week.”

Ettore Zit and Matthew Langley earned an 8-5 victory to start doubles play, then Yannick Born and Marlon Brand clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 victory. Davis and Lang’s 7-1 tiebreaker gave them a 9-8 win and completed the sweep.

Davis’ win made it a 2-0 lead for the Blue Raiders, but the Bulls reeled off five straight singles points to win the match. Ettore Zito and Forrest Edwards each took their matches to three sets after winning the first, but were unable to come away with the win.

The Blue Raiders will take on UCF in the season final on Saturday. The match will begin at 10 a.m. CT.

#72 USF 5, #56 Middle Tennessee 2
Singles competition
1. Ben Davis (MT) def. Wael Kilani (USF) 6-2, 6-2
2. Yannick Yoshizawa (USF) def. Matthew Langley (MT) 6-2, 6-4
3. Federico Sabogal (USF) def. Christoph Lang (MT) 6-4, 6-4
4. Juan Carlos Gerard (USF) def. Ettore Zito (MT) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
5. Oliver Pramming (USF) def. Forrest Edwards (MT) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Sebastian Hagn (USF) def. Dimitri Pippos (MT) 7-6, 6-2

Doubles competition
1. Yannick Born/Marlon Brand (MT) def. Yannick Yoshizawa/Oliver Pramming (USF) 8-5
2. Ben Davis/Christoph Lang (MT) def. Wael Kilani/Federico Sabogal (USF) 9-8 (7-1)
3. Ettore Zito/Matthew Langley (MT) def. Sebastian Hagn/Guillermo De Vilchez (USF) 8-5

Match Notes
Middle Tennessee 15-7; National ranking #56
USF 9-12; National ranking #72
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (1,6,2,3,4,5)

Follow the Blue Raiders on Twitter @MTAthletics for continued updates.