The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

RETURNING to the line-up from the injury list just in time, sophomore Justin Roberts helped the University of South Florida Bulls men’s tennis team to their third consecutive American Conference Championships.

Over the weekend, Roberts and the No.17 Bulls defeated the No.2 seed Tulsa 4-0 at the Dunavant-Wellford Tennis Centre in Memphis, Tennessee.

“It was a huge weekend for us,” said Bulls’ head coach Matt Hill. “The conference for us this year was much stronger than the last few years. We had five teams that are ranked in the top 25 in the nation. So we knew that it was going to be a tough challenge, but our guys did a good job for sure.”

Hill said Roberts got a chance to play on Friday as he made his return from the injured reserved list, but he didn’t allow him to play on Saturday and Sunday because it was just his first week back in action.

“I thought he looked pretty good. He spent his time during the injury working on his fitness and really getting a lot stronger with his legs,” Hills said. “So it definitely wasn’t a wasted time. He was putting in a ton of work, even though his wrist was hurting.

“He looked very strong and very fit. He was back on the training court this week and he looked really good. So I was very pleased with what I saw. We will see how the next couple of weeks go with his strength training for him.”

On Tuesday night, the NCAA National Tournament selection process will take place and that is when the Bulls will know whom and where they will be playing in the tournament over the weekend of May 13-15 at various campus cites. The NCAA tournament finals will be held on May 19 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

“With us being ranked at No.16, that gives us an opportunity to host some of the matches at our campus in Tampa, Florida,” Hill said. “We’re hoping that is still the case after this weekend. There are still a few more conference championships to be played, but hopefully we will stay in the top 16 so that we can get some of those matches on our home court.

As for the six-foot Roberts, Hill said he’s just delighted to have him back in the mix.

“I don’t really have much expectations for him right now. We’re taking it day by day,” Hill said. “Hopefully by next week, he will feel more comfortable stepping on the court and we can get him back in the line-up in singles and doubles because we will need him.”

Roberts, who was sitting his final exams at the university, was unavailable for comments. Last year, Roberts teamed up with Oliver Pramming as they advanced to the men’s doubles round of 16 at the NCAA Tournament.

The duo finished the year ranked No.27 in doubles after they posted a 13-9 win-loss record.