Jan. 26, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis match against No. 32 Rice has been canceled due to rain. After starting doubles at 11 a.m., rain suspended the matches, but play resumed after 3 p.m. The teams finished all three doubles matches, but another heavy rain ultimately canceled the contest, which will not be rescheduled.
In doubles, senior Nikolas Overkemping (Bonn, Germany) and sophomore Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) won the No. 1 spot. Overkemping and Beigart were leading three games to two before the break in action. After resuming play, the duo picked up the victory, 8-5, against Ralph Knupfer and Tobias Scheil.
In a thrilling match at No. 2, freshman Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) and junior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) fought back against Rice's Christoph Müller and Filip Zivojinovic after being down four games to one when the rain stopped play. Romano and Sakey battled to force the match into a tie-breaker, but fell short, 9-8(5).
"We battled really hard against a top-notch team," said UCF head coach Bobby Cashman. "We missed some chances, but I think we played well. We just have to continue to improve."
The Knights head to Gainesville to take on 14th-ranked Florida on Feb. 1. First serve is slated for 3 p.m.
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