The University of South Florida Men’s Tennis team was defeated by UC Santa Barbara 5–2 in a match held Sunday at the Arnhold Tennis Center in Santa Barbara, California.
Doubles matches began with close contests on all three courts. Hugo Car and James Newton were engaged in a competitive match at the No. 1 doubles position before their contest was left unfinished. The doubles point was decided on courts two and three, both won by the Gauchos.
In singles play, USF’s Hugo Car, ranked No. 28 nationally, faced No. 70 Lucca Liu from UCSB and lost 6–2, 6–1. At the No. 2 spot, Elijah Cham of USF forced a third set against Rolland but ultimately fell after splitting the first two sets.
USF secured its points at the bottom of the lineup. Stepan Mruzek won his match at No. 5 singles with a score of 6–2, 7–5. Gughi Verdese followed with a straight-set victory at No. 6 singles, defeating Brown 6–3, 6–2.
Matches in the middle positions saw extended rallies and long games as Ettore Danesi and Agustin Cuellar of USF competed through close contests but did not secure wins.
USF will look to rebound in its next match against Pepperdine on Tuesday, February 3.
Head coach Ashley Fisher is leading the program for his ninth season during the 2025-26 campaign. Fisher has led USF to four NCAA Tournament appearances, including three second-round trips. He received American Athletic Conference Coach of the Year honors in both 2017 and 2019 after guiding USF to conference titles those years.
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