Oct. 31, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team began its final event of the fall in strong fashion Friday, recording six singles and three doubles victories to open the UCF Invitational. The three-day event at the UCF Tennis Complex will continue Saturday morning.
The Knights began the day by claiming three of their four doubles tilts. In singles action, UCF players won six of eight matches.
The Knights faced players from LSU to open the flighted tournament. The Tigers finished last season ranked 18th nationally.
"We really played well together," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "Our doubles play really set the tone. Our fitness was great and I thought we were mentally tough against some very good opponents. I am very happy with the way that we competed."
In singles play, UCF sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) rallied to post a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 win over Sebastian Carlsson in Flight A. Facing Julien Gauthier in Flight B, sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) also rallied for a win. He came back to claim a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.
Senior Tarek Ben Soltane (Tunis, Tunisia) went behind early against Jonathan Tragardh in Flight B, but came back to post a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win. Freshman Eugene Dolgovykh (Palm Coast, Fla.) was victorious in Flight C, defeating David Roberts (6-2, 5-7, 6-3).
Two Knights won in two sets. In Flight C, senior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) posted a 6-1, 7-6 (4) win over Ryan Lissner. Facing Andrew Meyers in Flight D, freshman Joe Delinks (Falmouth, Mass.) eased to a 6-0, 6-0 win.
Sakey and Delinks teamed to post an 8-4 doubles win over Gauthier and Tragadrh in Flight B. In Flight C, junior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) and Dolgovykh topped Lissner and Mark Bowtell, 8-3.
Against Roberts and Meyers in Flight D, Ben Soltane joined senior Danny Colon to recorded an 8-4 victory.
Players from Florida Atlantic and Georgia State are also participating in the event.
The tournament is serving as the Knights' final event of the fall. UCF is scheduled to begin play at 9 a.m. on Saturday. Admission to the event is free.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Day One Singles Results
Flight A
Claudio Romano (UCF) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 3-6, 6-3, 7-5
Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Johan Beigart (UCF) 7-6, (6), 6-3
Nejc Podkrajsek (GSU) def. Marc Abdelnour (FAU) 6-2, 0-6, 6-1
Daniel Vardag (FAU) def. Martin Shiskhov (GSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Flight B
Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Julien Gauthier (LSU) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) def. Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
Joe Cadogan (FAU) def. Henri Mangin (GSU) 7-6 (4), 6-0
Lawrence Harradine (FAU) def. Jackson Moore (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
Flight C
Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) def. David Roberts (LSU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
Brock Sakey (UCF) def. Ryan Lissner (LSU) 6-1, 7-6 (4)
Eddie Majcher (FAU) def. Trenton Spinks (GSU) 6-0, 6-3
Joshua Scholl (FAU) def. William Adeimy (GSU) 6-3, 6-3
Flight D
Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Danny Colon (UCF) 6-1, 6-4
Joe Delinks (UCF) def. Andrew Meyers (LSU) 6-0, 6-0
Day One Doubles Results
Flight A
Carlson/Skupski (LSU) def. Romano/Schwartz (UCF) 8-5
Podkrasjek/Shishkov (GSU) def. Abdelnour/Vardag (FAU) 8-4
Flight B
Delinks/Sakey (UCF) def. Tragardh/Gauthier (LSU) 8-4
Cadogan/Harradine (FAU) def. Adeimy/Mangin (GSU) 8-5
Flight C
Beigart/Dolgovykh (UCF) def. Bowtell/Lissner (LSU) 8-3
Majcher/Scholl (FAU) def. Moore/Spinks (GSU) 8-5
Flight D
Ben Soltane/Colon (UCF) def. Roberts/Meyers (LSU) 8-4