The University of Memphis men's tennis team wanted to make astatement Wednesday in their first-round matchup againstDePaul.
The statement was a strong one as the 69th-ranked Tigers (14-8),who are seeded fifth in the Conference USA tournament, thoroughlydominated the No. 12 seed Blue Demons (4-18) 4-0 at Helfaer TennisStadium in Milwaukee.
Memphis swept two doubles matches and three singles matchesbefore the remaining games were called off because it wasmathematically impossible for DePaul to come back.
Before the match, Memphis head coach Phil Chamberlain said hethought his team had the ability to advance deep into thetournament.
"I like where we are sitting," Chamberlain said. "We have agreat opportunity to do well in the draw we are in, but we'll needto get our confidence going right away in that first match."
In the No. 1 doubles, the Memphis tandem of Lee Taylor Walkerand Ben Stapp defeated Blue Demons Robert Kotroczo and SamDavidson, 8-3. Tigers Brendan Malarkey and Alex Jago also won theirdoubles match over Michael Fessler and Eric Huffman, 8-2.
Memphis sophomore Alex Bucewicz extended his singles winningstreak to 10 matches with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Will Wang in theNo.4 singles pairing.
Memphis' Malarkey topped Feasler, 6-2, 6-1 and Jago beatHuffman, 6-2, 6-4 to complete the sweep.
Memphis will need to make a deep run in the tournament if theyhope to be invited to the NCAA tournament.
A good sign for the Tigers, though, is they seem to be hittingtheir stride, as they've won their last three matches by shutoutsagainst UT-Martin, Western Kentucky and now DePaul.
With the win, Memphis moves on to face 40th-ranked SouthFlorida, who is the 3rd-seed team in the tournament, Thursdaymorning at 9 a.m.
The Bulls (14-6) are led by freshman Uli Kiendl, who is ranked69th in the nation in singles.
When South Florida and Memphis met earlier this season in March,the Bulls swept all three doubles pairings and took four of the sixsingles matches.
Like the Tigers, South Florida seems to be finding a rhythm latein the season.
The Bulls have won their last three team matches in impressivefashion with a 5-2 win over Central Florida, a 7-0 shutout ofJacksonville and their best win of the season, a 6-1 victory overNo. 29 Miami (Florida).
