March 5, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team jumped in front of Georgia State early and never looked back, taking a 6-1 victory at the UCF Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon. The Knights improved to 4-5 overall, 2-1 at home, while the Panthers to 1-8 on the season.
"This was our first overall team win," said UCF head coach Bobby Cashman. "From one through three in doubles and one through six in singles, our guys were consistent and relentless."
UCF started the day with back-to-back wins at courts two and three to earn the doubles point.
Junior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze) and sophomore Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) cruised past William Adeimy and Trenton Spinks, 8-2, in a match that lasted less than 40 minutes at No. 2.
Moments later, junior Tarek Ben Soltane (Tunis, Tunisia) and freshman Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla./Washington) prevailed 8-4 at No. 3 against Aleksandar Elezovic and Ross Hopper. Ben Soltane and Schwartz had not played together prior to the match.
Schwartz continued his impressive performance earning the first singles win of the day and his first this season with a 6-1, 6-3 decision over Hopper at No. 6.
Cashman was pleased to see the freshman battle back after missing the first half of the season with an injury.
"Blaze has worked tremendously hard in rehab to get back on the courts. I know he will contribute to this team and we're excited to have him back."
Another freshman earning a victory for the Knights was Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela). Romano blanked Spinks, 6-0, 6-0, improving to a 2-0 record at No. 5.
Sakey clinched the match for the Knights with a 6-0, 6-1 win at No. 3 against Elezovic, tying him with Ben Soltane for a team-best five wins.
Senior Sinan Sudas (Adana, Turkey) and Ben Soltane followed suit, earning points five and six, respectively, for the Knights. Sudas posted consecutive 6-3 wins at No. 2, while Ben Soltane took a 6-1, 6-3 win at No. 4.
UCF continues its homestand on Friday against Tennessee Tech. First serve is set for 9 a.m. at the UCF Tennis Complex.
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