Feb. 13, 2010
DELAND, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team conquered Stetson in a 5-2 victory Saturday afternoon at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center nearby in Deland. The Knights (2-1) lost the point in doubles but continued on to win five of six singles matches.
"Our upperclassmen did a great job of stepping up today," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "Stetson put some pressure on by taking the doubles point and forcing a few three set matches, but we were resilient and stayed positive. Blaze Schwartz and Marc Rocafort continue to be a solid force in doubles and they both are rolling that momentum into their singles matches."
UCF's 21st-ranked duo of senior Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain) and junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) pulled off the only doubles win for UCF with an 8-6 victory at the No. 1 spot against Didrik Berg and Christopher Swanteson.
In singles competition sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) gave the Knights their first point of the day in a 2-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Cesare Gallo at the No. 3 spot. Senior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) defeated Alex Hackett 3-6, 7-6(5), 10-8 at No. 5 giving UCF the lead.
Coming off a doubles win, Rocafort eased into a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 over Mark Mestan, while Schwartz topped Njal Stein 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 at the No. 6 spot. The final victory for the Knights came from senior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) with a 6-3, 6-1 defeat over Didrik Berg at No. 4.
With the defeat, Stetson drops to 2-1 on the season.
The Knights will continue play on Friday in Boca Raton where they will face Florida Atlantic at 2 p.m. This will be the second of a four-match tour around Florida for the Knights.
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.