April 5, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. (UCFAthletics.com) - After taking two matches in two days from conference foes, the UCF men's tennis team (10-9) dropped a 4-3 decision to No. 70 East Carolina (17-2) on Sunday. The hosts won three singles tilts and the deciding doubles point.
"Today's match came down to a few missed opportunities in doubles," said head coach Bobby Cashman. "We didn't capitalize and it cost us in the end. Overall, we are very happy with going 2-1 this weekend and we feel that we are peaking at the right time before we host the Conference USA tournament."
Leading the Knights in singles were juniors Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain) and Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) and sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.).
Collecting a 6-2, 6-4 win at the No. 3 spot, Schwartz collected his team-leading 14th win disposing of ECU's Henrik Skalmerud.
Rocafort rallied to knock off Stephen Whitwell at the top spot, 3-6, 6-1, 6-0, for his second win in three tries this weekend.
Already winning his two previous matches on the weekend, Beigart collected the trifecta when he toppled Denis Ermilov, 6-3, 6-3, at the fourth position. The Swede has come on strong as of late winning his last five matches. The weekend sweep gives Beigart 11 singles wins this year.
In doubles, Beigart and Schwartz were the lone winners for the Knights as they defeated the duo of Ermilov and Jaroslav Horvath 8-4 at the top spot.
The Knights return to action at home this Friday when they host Marquette. First serve is set for 2 p.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.
ECU 4, UCF 3
Singles Competition
1. Marc Rocafort (UCF) def. Stephen Whitwell (ECU) 3-6, 6-1, 6-0
2. Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) def. Tarek Ben Soltane (UCF) 7-5, 6-0
3. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Henrik Skalmerud (ECU) 6-2, 6-4
4. Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Denis Ermilov (ECU) 6-3, 6-3
5. Aleksey Kochetov (ECU) def. Joe Delinks (UCF) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
6. Bryan Oakley (ECU) def. Eugene Dolgovykh (UCF) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles Competition
1. Johan Beigart/Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Denis Ermilov/Jaroslav Horvath (ECU) 8-4
2. Aleksey Kochetov/Henrik Skalmerud (ECU) def. Tarek Ben Soltane/Joe Delinks (UCF) 9-8
3. Bryan Oakley/Stephen Whitwell (ECU) def. Eugene Dolgovykh/Marc Rocafort (UCF) 8-6