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Golden Knights Impressive at Southern Intercollegiates

Sept. 11, 2006

ATHENS, Ga. - The UCF men's tennis team opened its fall campaign at the Southern Intercollegiates this past weekend and several Golden Knights posted impressive performances at the event. Head coach Bobby Cashman's squad competed against some of the top teams in the region at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

Sophomore Jimmy Roesch (Melbourne, Fla./Eue Gallie HS) advanced to the championship of the division III singles bracket. Roesch recorded victories against opponents from Murray State, Samford, Charleston Southern and Vanderbilt. He posted a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win over Vanderbilt's Jordan Magarik in the semifinals. In the title match, Roesch fell to Travis Sandlant of East Tennessee State, 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5.

The tournament opened Friday and four of the five UCF players that were in action earned singles victories.

"We had an all-around good showing," said Cashman. "Our young guys gave a good effort and really competed. Jimmy played solid tennis and got better as the tournament progressed."

Sophomore Tarek Ben Soltane (Tunis, Tunisia) won a pair of matches in the division II singles bracket. In the first round, he defeated Chris Herrlinger of Louisville, 6-3, 7-5. Ben Soltane then topped Vanderbilt's Nick Comydas (6-3, 4-6, 6-1) before falling to Leander's Joakim Karlsson (6-1, 6-4) in the quarterfinals.

Sophomore Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze HS) played in the division I singles bracket and went 1-1. He topped Quentin Guichard of Charleston Southern (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) to open the tournament and then dropped a 6-1, 6-4 tilt to Duke's Peter Rodrigues. Rodrigues was one of the 16 seeded players in the bracket.

Freshman Johan Biegart (Vaxjo, Sweden) made his collegiate debut at the event and won one match, recording a 7-5, 6-3 win over Robert Rotaru of Louisville.

The Golden Knights will return to action on Oct. 6, competing at a tournament hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. For the latest news and information on the Golden Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official website for UCF athletics.

UCF Individual Results

Norman Alcantara - Division III Upper Half
Round of 32: Bye
Round of 16: lost to Alex Ahlgren (East Tennessee State) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

Division III Singles Consolation

Round of 16: defeated Brad Benedict (Georgia) 7-6 (3), 6-4

Johan Beigart - Division II Lower Half
Round of 32: defeated Robert Rotaru (Louisville) 7-5, 6-3
Round of 16: lost to Chris Cloer (Florida State) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0

Tarek Ben Soltane - Division II Upper Half
Round of 32: defeated Chris Herrlinger (Louisville) 6-3, 7-5
Round of 16: defeated Nick Cromydas (Vanderbilt) 6-3, 4-6, 6-1
Quarterfinals: lost Joakim Karlsson (Leander) 6-1, 6-4

Jimmy Roesch - Division III Lower Half
Round of 32: defeated Chris Horton (Murray State) 6-3, 6-3
Round of 16: defeated Brad Weaver (Samford) 7-6 (6), 6-1
Quarterfinals: defeated Steven Dean (Charleston Southern) 6-4, 6-2
Semifinals: defeated Jordan Magarik (Vanderbilt) 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-5
Championship: lost to Travis Sandlant (East Tennessee State) 6-4, 6-1

Brock Sakey - Division I Lower Half
Round of 32: defeated Quentin Guichard (Charleston Southern) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Round of 16: lost to Peter Rodrigues (Duke) 6-3, 6-0

Sinan Sudas - Division I Singles Upper Half
Round of 32: lost to John Isner (Georgia) 6-2, 6-2

Division I Singles Consolation
Round of 32: lost to Jonathan Dean (6-4, 6-0)

UCF Doubles Results

Alcantara/Sudas - Division I Upper Half
Quarterfinals: lost to Omerzal/Helgeson (Georgia) 8-6

Beigart/Ben Soltane - Division II Upper Half
Round of 32: defeated Horton/Gerlach (Murray State) 9-7
Round of 16: lost to Tchervenoachki/Sandgren (Tennessee) 8-2

Roesch/Sakey - Division II Lower Half
Round of 16: lost to Demitrov/Carpenter (Duke) 8-2