The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

UNIVERSITY of South Florida coach Matt Hill has been quite impressed with Bahamian rookie tennis player Justin Roberts.

Roberts, the rising young tennis star, tried to get the No.18 USF through their historic season but the Bulls dropped a 4-1 decision to the No. 2 Baylor in the NCAA Division I Men’s Team Championship Round of 16 on Thursday night. USF (21-7) made the programme’s first Sweet 16 appearance after capturing its second consecutive American Athletic Conference crown.

“He was recruited by some huge schools and we were very fortunate to have him choose to come to USF and it’s been very healthy for the team as well,” said Hill of Roberts integration on the team. “Having a new guy in who was as hungry as he is to develop and train towards a pro tennis career has been a very healthy and rewarding experience for us. He has helped us to improve on what we did last year.”

The Bulls continue to turn their season around from being ranked at No.75 three years ago, making it to the Sweet 16 for the second consecutive year.

“It was just great to have another new guy come in and really push the envelope and a culture perspective on really how professional he really is in going about his duties with the team,” Hill said.

In doubles play, Roberts and Oliver Pramming were defeated 8-7 by Baylor before Roberts lost in singles 4-6, 6-2, 1-1 in a match against 116 Mate Zsiga that he did not finish.

For Roberts, the experience was more than he envisioned. “It was very competitive and we were right there with them,” Roberts said. “I was playing very well, but after the match was already clinched by Baylor on one of the other courts, I didn’t have to finish my match. I would have liked to have finished so I can see how my performance stacked up, but it’s okay. We still have some more time to play in tournaments like this in the future.”

The loss snapped a seven-match winning streak for USF, which posted three consecutive 4-0 victories before heading to Waco. The Bulls shut out host Tulsa in the American title match and cruised past Boise State and No. 15 Virginia Tech in the first two rounds of the NCAA Championship.

Although they lost, Roberts and two other members of the Bulls will be back in action this week in Waco when they participate in the NCAA Championship singles and doubles tournament. Roberts and Pramming are entered in the doubles competition at the Hurd Tennis Center May 20-25.

“My partner is a senior, so it would be good to go out with a victory and earn All-American,” Roberts stated. “Hopefully we can go pretty far in the tournament. The more we play together, the better we become, especially against better teams. I know we’ve played against some really good teams this year and we did very well, so it’s been a great experience so far for me.”

As a freshman, 18-year-old Roberts said playing against the different teams, he’s learnt so much about the game, especially playing in front of the big crowds. So it was a good experience and hopefully we can go even further in this tournament.”

Their coach was just as enthusiastic about their chances.

“The guys are playing well right now and we want to win the singles and the doubles tournament,” Hill said.

“They are playing with a lot of confidence and anything can happen at this level and we know there won’t be any easy matches, but we gained a lot of experience playing in the tournament last year and making it to the quarter-finals, so we can only get better as we go on and play this week. They know they can beat anybody, so it’s going to be a fun week for us.”

Whatever happens, Hill said it will be a good confidence booster for Roberts as he looks forward to his sophomore year next year. Hill noted that he was just as impressed with Roberts’ performances this year as he was when he coached against Grand Bahamian Jamal Adderley when he played for USC and he was on the other side of the court as an assistant coach with the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

“Justin has been all we had hoped for and more this year. It’s incredibly rare for a freshman to be as impactful as he has been on such a high calibre team but that is just a testament to who he is as a person and as an athlete,” Hill said.

“Besides being incredibly gifted with soft hands, power, and freak athleticism he is a young man who comes from an incredible family, unbelievably smart and best of all super hard-working.

“As a coach you can’t ask for a trait that this young man doesn’t possess. As we were watching him compete last night you can see how much he loves the big stage as do a lot of our guys and that is something you can’t coach.

“He is just scratching the surface with what he is capable of and we expect great things from him in the future.”