March 20, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Behind the big serves of junior Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain), the UCF men's tennis team prevailed over Winthrop Friday morning at the UCF Tennis Complex, 4-3. The win gives the Knights (8-7) eight on the season.
"I am proud of the way the guys battled for the victory today," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "Taking the doubles point was crucial, and then the efforts by Joe (Delinks) and Marc (Rocafort) to finish the match out was great. I told the guys it was going to be a battle, and they stepped up and finished."
After taking the doubles point, the Knights found themselves down 3-2. With a win from Delinks at the No. 6 spot, the match came down to Rocafort at the top of the lineup. After taking the first set, Rocafort used a late break of serve to defeat Winthrop's Roy Sichel, 6-3, 6-4.
Junior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) also was a winner for the Knights as he quickly disposed of Diego Toledo, 6-1, 6-2. Since manning the fourth spot, Beigart is 4-1 against opposing players.
The Knights jumped out to the early lead when they took 2-of-3 doubles matches from the Eagles (6-7). The third team of Rocafort and freshman Eugene Dolgovykh (Palm Coast, Fla.) recorded the first of two doubles wins with an 8-3 triumph over Toledo and Arthur Takahashi. The No. 1 team of Beigart and sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) prevailed over Sergey Belov and Daniel Daudt, 8-6.
Tuesday afternoon, UCF closes out its eight-match homestand when it takes on New Mexico State at 2 p.m. at the UCF Tennis Complex.
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UCF 4, Winthrop 3
Singles competition
1. Marc Rocafort (UCF) def. Roy Sichel (WIN) 6-3, 6-4
2. Sergey Belov (WIN) def. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) 6-4, 6-2
3. Nadav Ruppin (WIN) def. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) 6-4, 6-3
4. Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Diego Toledo (WIN) 6-1, 6-2
5. Arthur Takahashi (WIN) def. Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) 6-1, 6-6
6. Joe Delinks (UCF) def. Daniel Daudt (WIN) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Blaze Schwartz/Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Sergey Belov/Daniel Daudt (WIN) 8-6
2. Roy Sichel/Nadav Ruppin (WIN) def. Tarek Ben Soltane/Joe Delinks (UCF) 8-6
3. Eugene Dolgovykh/Marc Rocafort (UCF) def. Diego Toledo/Arthur Takahashi (WIN) 8-3