March 15, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. (www.ucfathletics.com) - In its fourth and final match in the state of California, the UCF men's tennis team was unable to upset No. 57 UC Irvine, 4-3, on Saturday afternoon at Anteater Tennis Stadium. The No. 72 Knights finished the roadtrip with a 2-1 record, and fall to 7-6 on the season. The Anteaters improve to 7-7.
Senior Sinan Sudas (Adana, Turkey) and freshman Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) opened the day in doubles, defeating Khunpol Issara and Alex Sundling, 8-5 at No. 1. It was Sudas and Romano's second win at court one this season.
After UC Irvine took a victory court three, junior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) and sophomore Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) fought to earn the doubles point. After being down 5-2, the duo forced the tiebreak and ultimately won 9-8(0) against Trevor Dobson and Douglas Taylor.
Beigart and Sakey have won their last five straight doubles matches.
In singles, the Knights posted wins at tilts five and six.
Romano won the first singles decision of the afternoon, 6-1, 6-4, at No. 5 against Stephen Stege. The victory served as the freshman's eight singles win, tying a team-high.
Later in the afternoon, freshman Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla./Washington) knocked off Ryan Mayer at No. 6, 6-1, 6-4. Since coming back from an injury, Schwartz has won five-straight singles decisions.
"Although UC Irvine outplayed us at crucial moments, I thought our doubles play has continued to improve and I was impressed with the all-around good attitudes both teams had," said UCF head coach Bobby Cashman. "We still have some room for improvement, but I see a great deal of progress being made and I know our team is looking forward to the three matches at home."
The Knights return to Orlando for a three-match homestand, starting on March 21 against Cornell. First serve at the UCF Tennis Complex is set for 2 p.m. EST.
Admission to all UCF home matches is free.
For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel, log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also, check out www.ucfphotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.