March 23, 2006
BOISE, Idaho - The UCF men's tennis team opened play at the Boise State Red Lion Spring Break Tournament on Thursday, splitting a pair of matches at the Boise Racquet and Swim Club. The Golden Knights (8-7) began the event with a 4-2 win over Georgia State and then dropped a 4-2 contest to No. 70 Ball State.
On Friday, UCF will face Western Michigan in the consolation bracket at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
Against Georgia State (7-7), UCF lost at the top two singles positions, but swept the bottom of the lineup. At No. 6, freshman Jimmy Roesch posted a 6-2, 7-6 (3) victory over Daniel Balog. Freshman Tarek Ben Soltane was victorious at No. 4, topping Matija Sulin, 6-1, 7-6 (6).
At No. 3, freshman Norman Alcantara rallied for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 win against Clarence Boyd. Fellow freshman Brock Sakey defeated Anze Cevka at No. 5, recording a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6) win.
UCF was playing outside of Florida for the first time this season.
Ball State won singles matches at the top four spots to record the win over the Golden Knights. Ben Soltane and Sakey took victories at the No. 5 and No. 6 positions respectively, for UCF.
Sakey beat Daniel Vidal, 7-6, 7-6. Versus Jarrod Epkey, Ben Soltane recorded a 6-2, 6-3 win. With the win, the Cardinals improved to 13-4.
The Golden Knights did not compete in doubles play in either match.
The tournament concludes on Saturday. UCF will play only one match on Friday and will finish the event with one match on Saturday.
UCF 4, Georgia State 2
1: Martin Stiegwardt (GSU) def. Sebastian Delgado (UCF) 6-3, 6-4
2: Nejc Podkrajsek (GSU) def. Sinan Sudas (UCF) 6-4, 6-4
3: Norman Alcantara (UCF) def. Clarence Boyd (GSU) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
4: Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) def. Matija Sulin (GSU) 6-1, 7-6 (1)
5: Brock Sakey (UCF) def. Anze Cevka (GSU) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (6)
6: Jimmy Roesch (UCF) def. Daniel Balog (GSU) 6-2, 7-6 (3)
No. 70 Ball State 4, UCF 2
1: Matt Baccarani (BSU) def. Sebastian Delgado (UCF) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
2: Joe Epkey (BSU) def. Sinan Sudas (UCF) 6-3, 3-6, 7-5
3: Tony Epkey (BSU) def. Alamgir Wali (UCF) 7-5, 6-1
4: Patrick Thompson (BSU) def. Norman Alcantara (UCF) 6-3, 6-2
5: Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) def. Jarrod Epkey (BSU) 6-2, 6-3
6: Brock Sakey (UCF) def. Daniel Vidal (BSU) 7-6, 7-6