TAMPA, Fla. – The Rice men’s tennis team closed its Florida road trip with a 4-3 win over South Florida on Sunday.
The Owls improved to 8-6 overall and are 8-0 when winning the doubles point this season. The duo of Petro Kuzmenok and Santiago Navarro opened play with a 6-1 win over Huggo Car and Effore Danesi. On court three, Timeo Gaillard and Elijah Cham defeated Tommy Czaplinski and Rafael Botran 6-3. Yair Sarouk and Kabeer Kapasi clinched the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over James Newton and Toto Llanes.
South Florida evened the match when Kapasi fell to Stepan Mruzek 6-3, 6-3. Kuzmenok regained the lead for the Owls with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Car. On court five, Guhi Verdese defeated Czaplinski 6-3, 6-1, before Navarro topped Cham 6-3, 6-1.
Gabriel Porras clinched the match for the Owls with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Llanes, marking his second match-clinching victory of the season. Play continued beyond the clinch on court four, where Botran fell to Agustin Cuellar 7-6, 6-2.
The Owls will face Tulane in New Orleans on Friday, March 22. The match will be streamed on ESPN+.
RESULTS
DOUBLES
P. Kuzmenok/S. Navarro (RICE) def. H. Car/E. Danesi (USF) 6-1
Y. Sarouk/K. Kapasi (RICE) def. J. Newton/T. Llanes (USF) 6-3
T. Gaillard/E. Cham (USF) def. T. Czaplinski/R. Botran (RICE) 6-3
Order of Finish: 1, 3, 2
SINGLES
P. Kuzmenok (RICE) def. H. Car (USF) 6-3, 6-2
S. Navarro (RICE) def. E. Cham (USF) 6-3, 6-1
S. Mruzek (USF) def. K. Kapasi (RICE) 6-3, 6-3
A. Cuellar (USF) def. R. Botran (RICE) 7-6, 6-2
G. Verdese (USF) def. T. Czaplinski (RICE) 6-3, 6-1
G. Porras (RICE) def. T. Llanes (USF) 7-5, 6-3
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 5, 2, 6, 4
