Nov. 1, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team continued its strong play at the UCF Invitational as the Knights recorded four singles and one doubles win on Saturday against players from Georgia State. Sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) capped the day with an impressive singles victory.
Facing Nejc Podkrasjek, who is ranked 69th in the nation, Romano posted a 7-6 (9), 6-2 win. The Knights won four of five singles matches on the day, with the only loss coming on a default.
"We are playing very well right now. Claudio stuck was his game plan and executed very well," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman. "We were a little tired today, but we were still competitive and gained momentum as the day went on."
The three-day tournament will conclude Sunday.
Junior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) won his Flight A match, topping Martin Shishkov (2-6, 6-3, 6-2).
Two Knights won in straight sets. In Flight B, sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) defeated Jackson Moore, 6-3, 6-4. Freshman Eugene Dolgovykh had little trouble in his Flight C contest. He eased past William Adeimy, winning 6-2, 6-0.
UCF went 1-1 in double play. Freshman Joe Delinks (Falmouth, Mass.) and senior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) combined for an 8-2 Flight B win over Adeimy and Henri Mangin. In Flight A, Podrajsek and Shishkov held on for an 8-7 (2) victory against Romano and Schwartz.
The tournament is serving as the Knights' final event of the fall. UCF is scheduled to begin play at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. Florida Atlantic and LSU are also participating in the tournament.
Admission to the event is free.
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Day Two Singles Results
Flight A
Claudio Romano (UCF) def. Nejc Podkrasjek (GSU) 7-6 (9), 6-2
Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Martin Shishkov (GSU) 2-6, 6-3, 6-2
Marc Abdelnour (FAU) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Daniel Vardag (FAU) 6-1, 7-5
Neal Skupski (LSU) def. Joe Cadogan (FAU) 6-1, 3-6, 6-2
Jonathan Tragardh (LSU) def. Lawrene Harradine (FAU) 7-6 (5), 6-2
Flight B
Henri Mangin def. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) def. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Jackson Moore (GSU) 6-3, 6-4
Ryan Lissner (LSU) def. Eddie Majcher (FAU) 6-4, 6-2
Mark Bowtell (LSU) def. Joshua Scholl (FAU) 7-5, 6-3
Santiago Nieto (FAU) def. Andrew Meyers (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
Osvaldo Benitez (FAU) def. David Roberts (LSU) 3-1, ret.
Flight C
Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) def. Wiliam Adeimy (GSU)
Day Two Doubles Results
Flight A
Podkrajsek/Shishkov (GSU) def. Romano/Schwartz (UCF) 8-7 (2)
Carlsson/Skupski (LSU) def. Abdelnour/Vardag (FAU) 9-7
Flight B
Delinks/Sakey (UCF) def. Adeimy/Mangin (GSU) 8-2
Gauthier/Tragardh (LSU) def. Cadogan/Harradine (FAU) 8-4
Flight C
Macjher/Scholl (FAU) def. Bowtell/Lissner (LSU) 8-4
Flight D
Benitez/Nieto (FAU) def. Roberts/Meyers (LSU) 8-6