Feb. 28, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Facing the 37th-ranked team in the nation, the UCF men's tennis team was unable to get past cross-state foe USF as the Bulls posted a 6-1 win at the UCF Tennis Complex Saturday afternoon. The contest was the second of eight-straight matches in Orlando for the Knights (5-5).
The Bulls, who improved to 5-4, took the doubles point and then won five of six singles tilts.
Sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) was victorious in singles for UCF. At the No. 4 spot, he defeated Romain Deridder, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4.
"We did not execute well at all in doubles today; we were sloppy with the fundamentals and we didn't have enough energy," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "Despite the slow start, we got it back together and competed much better in singles. At No. 2 and No. 3, we had plenty of chances and at No. 5 singles we jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first set and didn't stay up. USF played well, but we didn't seize the opportunities that we created."
At the top spot, USF's Lucas Jovita topped senior Tarek Ben Soltane (Tunis, Tunisia), 6-4, 6-1.
UCF will return to action Friday, hosting Florida Atlantic at 11:30 a.m.
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#37 USF 6, UCF 1
Singles competition
1. Lucas Jovita (USF) def. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) 6-4, 6-1
2. Wael Kilani (USF) def. Marc Rocafort (UCF) 0-6, 6-3, 7-5
3. Mahmoud Hamed (USF) def. Johan Beigart (UCF) 6-7, 7-5, 10-6
4. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Romain Deridder (USF) 6-4, 1-6, 6-4
5. Jamal Adderly (USF) def. Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) 7-5, 6-2
6. Mark Oljaca (USF) def. Joe Delinks (UCF) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles competition
1. Lucas Jovita/Thomas Estrada (USF) def. Marc Rocafort/Blaze Schwartz (UCF) 8-5
2. Romain Deridder/Wael Kilani (USF) def. Johan Beigart/Joe Delinks (UCF) 8-6
3. Arzhang Derahskhani/Alex Pukal (USF) def. Eugene Dolgovykh/Tarek Ben Soltane
(UCF) 8-4