Thai Tu falls in close Match in Tiburon Qualifying

October 14th,2009
(Tiburon,CA)

USF Sophomore Thai Tu came up on the short end Saturday afternoon losing an incredibly close match to Australia's ATP #250 Nick Lindahl 4-6,7-5,7-6(6) after holding match points. Tu who is a transfer from Cal Berkeley looks to play at the #1 spot for the Dons this year as did his brother Tommy Tu c/o'09 who graduated this past spring. Tu and Lindahl traded baseline shots and rallys from corner to corner. Tu was serving for the match in the second set at 5-4, third set at 5-4 holding match point, and having match point in the 3rd set tiebreaker at 6-5. Lindahl an experienced seasoned ATP Pro at 21 who has played mostly Challengers during his career participated in this year's Australian Open and more recently won the Seascape Challenger this past July in Aptos,CA.

To view pictures from Thai's first round qualifying match log onto http://picasaweb.google.com/guadalupe.alonso07/Pablo?feat=email#

photos courtesy of Guadalupe Olonso

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University of San Francisco Sophomore Thai Tu Receives WC into RBS Pro Challenger Qualifying

Sophomore Thai Tu has been granted a Wildcard into the qualifying of the RBC Challenger in Tiburon,California. Qualifying play will begin the weekend of October 10-11th at the Tiburon Peninsula Club with the Main Draw starting the week of October 12-18th. For more information log onto http://tiburonpc.org/challenger/


The Tiburon Peninsula Club is very proud to host the $50,000 Royal Bank of Scotland USTA Pro Circuit Challenger. As you may recall, TPC has hosted two of these events, in 2003 and 2004. Both were resounding successes — sponsors and participants considered these tournaments the best USTA Challengers on the schedule. The qualifying tournament begins Saturday, October 10th, with the main draw starting on Monday, October 12 and culminating with the finals on Sunday, October 18th.

USTA Men's Circuit
There are two types of men's events on the USTA Pro Circuit: Futures and Challengers. Each event has 32 players in the main singles draw and 16 teams competing in doubles.




Futures are professional tournaments offering $10,000 to $15,000 in prize money and are typically the proving ground for top-ranked juniors, college players and pros at the beginning of their careers. Players competing in Futures generally have an ATP Entry System ranking ranging from No. 150 to No. 900. The singles qualifying draw size is 64 or 128 players for the $10,000 events, and 64 players for the $15,000 events. Players must reach the round of 16 to earn a ranking point.

Challengers offer $25,000 to $50,000 in prize money. These tournaments serve as a bridge between the Futures and the ATP tour and enable players to earn more points per round than they do in Futures events. In fact, players can achieve a Top 100 ranking by playing solely in Challengers. The qualifying draw size is 32 players.

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Dons Open Fall Season At Bulldog Classic

USF advances six singles to at least the quarterfinals


Fresno, Calif.) - The USF men's tennis team opened the 2009 fall season this weekend at the Bulldog Classic in Fresno. The event was successful for the Dons, who had six singles and a doubles team advance to at least the quarterfinals of each bracket.

In the singles Flight A bracket, newcomer Thai Tu earned a bye in the round of 32, before posting three-set victories in the round of 16 and the quarterfinals. In the round of 16, the sophomore posted a 4-6, 7-5 6-1 defeat of Riki McLachlan from Cal before downing Frenso State's Botillier 1-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Tu's run fell short though, as he lost to eventual champion Rikus DeVilliers of FSU, 7-6, 4-6, 6-2.

In the Flight B bracket, three Dons advanced to the round of 16, but just one USF player advanced further. Rainer Nachbauer, Jacob Hartwig and Einar Hart each advanced to the round of 16, with just Nachbauer advancing on. Hartwin posted a three-set 6-1, 1-6, 7-6 (3) victory over Sho Hugichi of Oregon in the opening round before dropping a straight-set 6-2, 6-1 match to Matheiu Forget of UC Santa Barbara in the round of 16. Hart posted a 6-1, 6-1 victory over Gabe Kanzelmeyer of Nevada, before falling 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 to Chris Aria of UC Davis in the second round. Nachbauer earned a spot in the round of 16 by virtue of a bye, before advancing to the quarterfinals with a defeat due to injury in the round of 16. In the quarterfinals, Nachbauer feel 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 to Taylor Leiby of Fresno State.

Ola Bakke fell in the opening round of the Flight B, but advanced to the semifinals of the consolation bracket, thanks to a straight set 6-2, 6-3 victory over Kristian Kuharszky of Nevada.
In Flight C, Will Schumaker highlighted the Dons' efforts advancing to the Finals. The freshman posted a 6-3, 6-2 opening round victory over Jack Horowitz of UC Davis, before defeating Robert Zacks of Cal Poly 6-3, 7-6. In the Semifinals, Schumaker defeated Somach of Oregon 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 before falling in the championship to Max Glenn 6-1, 4-6, 4-3, ret.

In doubles action, the Dons' Mark DeCastro and Schumaker advanced to the semifinals of the B Flight. Also in action in the flight were the San Francisco doubles teams of Kotlyar/Peder Steen and Hart/Nachbauer.

USF will take to the courts again this weekend as they travel to Tiburon for the TPC Challenge.

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USF Tennis History in the 21st century

(San Francisco,CA)-The University of San Francisco Men's Tennis Team this past April in San Diego,CA finished in Third Place for the 3rd time in 9 years in the West Coast Conference. The Dons finished 3rd in 2003, 2006, and 2009 and narrowly missed a 3rd place finish in 2008 losing a heartbreaking match in the #6 singles match to USD. The Dons look to build upon their success from the 2009 season and carry the momentum. With three Seniors graduating, the Dons look to reload and will be bringing in 4 new student-athletes in the Fall of 09. The Dons schedule for 2009-2010will be unveiled before the end of the summer.

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Tommy Tu Named ITA West Region Senior Of The Year

(San Francisco, Calif.) - Tommy Tu, of the USF men's tennis team, has been named the West Region Farnsworth/ITA Senior Player of the Year, as announced by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.

Tu earns the award on the heels of his stellar final spring with the Dons. During the 2009 campaign, the native of Binh Duong, Vietnam earned All-West Coast Conference first team accolades for the first time in his career and his third overall All-Conference honor. As a senior, Tu posted a 13-8 record playing No. 1 singles for the Green and Gold. Thanks to his outstanding efforts, Tu also became the second Don to be ranked in the national singles ranking. He earned a season-high ranking of 95th and finished the regular season ranked 103rd.

Tu also posted a strong spring in doubles play, teaming with Asaf Cohen to earn All-WCC second team doubles accolades. During the 2009 dual season, the duo reached a season-high national rank of 87th, posting an 8-5 record at the top spot.

With the selection, Tu's name will be automatically nominated for the National Senior Player of the Year.

Farnsworth/ITA Senior Player of the Year Northeast - Chris Clayton, Harvard Mideast - Cory Parr, Wake Forest Southeast - Bruno Agostonelli, Kentucky Midwest - Bryan Koniecko, Ohio State Central - Arnau Brugues, Tulsa South Central - Conor Pollock, Texas A&M Mountain - Johnny Parkes, New Mexico West - Tommy Tu, San Francisco

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USF Athletics Says Goodbye to Graduating Seniors

(San Francisco,CA)-Congratulations to the Class of 2009. Tommy Tu(Alameda,CA) Torin Ching(Honolulu,Hawaii) and Mitch Del Rosario (Fremont,CA) the three seniors and Captains of the Men's Tennis team as they graduated today at St. Ignatius Church and are the 150th class to graduate from the University of San Francisco. Thank you for your four years of dedication and commitment to the Men's Tennis Program.

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Tommy Tu and Asaf Cohen Earn WCC Recognition

Tu, Cohen Earn WCC Recognition
Tu named First Team All-WCC for singles, Tu and Cohen named Second Team for doubles


April 23, 2009


(San Bruno, Calif.) - Tommy Tu, of the USF men's tennis team, was named to the singles first team All-West Coast Conference team Thursday, as announced by the conference office. Also earning honors was the Dons' double duo of Tu and Asaf Cohen, who were awarded second team All-WCC doubles accolades.

The first team selection marks the first time the native of Binh Duong, Vietnam has been awarded first team accolades, but the third time in his career he has been named All-Conference. Tu was a second team selection in both 2008 and 2007. This spring, the senior posted a 13-8 record playing No. 1 singles for the Green and Gold. Thanks to his outstanding efforts, Tu also became the second Don to be ranked in the national singles ranking. He earned a season-high ranking of 95th and finished the season ranked 103rd.

The doubles duo of Tu and Cohen marks the second time each Don has earned conference recognition for their teamed efforts. Last season, Tu was a second team doubles All-WCC selection with current teammate Rainer Nachbauer, while Cohen also earned second team honors with former Don Falko Huttenberger. This spring, Tu and Cohen reached a season high national rank of 87th, as they posted an 8-5 record at No. 1.

The two selections wraps-up a season for the Dons in which they opened the season ranked for the first time, and tied a program-best finish, placing third at the conference championships. At the WCC Championships, USF used an outstanding comeback against Saint Mary's in the opening round, winning 4-3, to earn a spot in the semifinals against top-seeded Pepperdine. After fighting hard, but dropping a 4-0 decision to the Waves, San Francisco closed out the season against the same team it opened the season against - Portland. Looking to seek revenge for a loss in the opening match of the spring, the Dons relied on a team effort to earn third place overall. Following a memorable doubles set from Tu and Mitch Del Rosario, Einar Hart, Tu and Jacob Hartwig lifted the Dons to a victory thanks to their strong showings in singles play.
"Our third place finish is huge for our program," said head coach Peter Bartlett. "There is a large difference between the Pepperdine, San Diego and USF programs, along the lines of budget, funding and staffing, that this is a large achievement for us. All in all, our team was the definition of team with high engery, support and belief in themselves and their fellow Dons."

San Francisco finished the spring season with a 9-12 record, including going a notable 6-3 against WCC foes.

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