March 6, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On a sunny 75-degree afternoon, the UCF men's tennis team came back from down 3-1 to defeat No. 59 Florida Atlantic (8-4), 4-3, at the UCF Tennis Complex Friday. The win over the Owls pushes the Knights' home record to 5-1 on the season, and to 6-5 overall.
"I am just proud of our guys for gutting out this victory," said UCF head coach Bobby Cashman after the win. "I look at this match as a turning point for our team. We have been without the services of Brock (Sakey) and Claudio (Romano) for most of the season, and our underclassmen really stepped up and led us to the win."
The Owls opened the match by taking 2-of-3 in doubles, giving them the early edge. UCF Junior Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain) and senior Danny Colon (Jacksonville, Fla.) teamed up to defeat Lawrence Harradine and Santiago Nieto, 8-3.
In singles, the Knights stepped up and took 4-of-6 points, collecting wins from the 2-5 positions.
Rocafort quickly disposed of Daniel Vardag, 6-3, 6-0, giving the junior his sixth win this season, and first at the No. 2 spot.
After the Knights fell behind 3-1 to the Owls, junior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) came through with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Joshua Scholl at the fourth position. Beigart's win gives him four on the year, and his first at No. 4.
Freshman Eugene Dologovykh (Palm Coast, Fla.) came through once again for the Knights at the No. 5 spot when he took down Nieto, 7-5, 6-4. The win gave the freshman seven on the season, with all of them coming from the fifth position.
Battling through cramps in the third set, sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) gutted out a 7-5, 1-6, 6-2 win over Harradine to clinch the match for the Knights. The win gave the junior a team-high nine on the season. Schwartz's triumph gives the Pensacola native four wins at the No. 3 spot this year.
In the midst of their eight-match homestand, the Knights now face a quick turnaround as they face Georgia State Sunday morning at 10 a.m.
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.
UCF 4, #59 FAU 3
Singles competition
1. Marc Abdelnour (FAU) def. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) 6-1, 6-2
2. Marc Rocafort (UCF) def. Daniel Vardag (FAU) 6-3, 6-0
3. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Lawrence Harradine (FAU) 7-5, 1-6, 6-2
4. Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Joshua Scholl (FAU) 6-3, 6-2
5. Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) def. Santiago Nieto (FAU) 7-5, 6-4
6. Eddie Majcher (FAU) def. Joe Delinks (UCF) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Marc Abdelnour/Eddie Majcher (FAU) def. Tarek Ben Soltane/Johan Beigart (UCF) 8-6
2. Daniel Vardag/Joshua Scholl (FAU) def. Blaze Schwartz/Joe Delinks (UCF) 8-5
3. Marc Rocafort/Danny Colon (UCF) def. Lawrence Harradine/Santiago Nieto (FAU) 8-3
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.