Feb. 7, 2010
By Sarah Bishop
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After Friday's home season opener was postponed due to rain, the UCF men's tennis team conquered Georgia Southern in a 6-1 victory Sunday afternoon at the UCF Tennis Complex. The Knights (1-1) opened the contest by taking the doubles point and then won five of six singles matches.
"All the way through the lineup we did a great job of learning from our mistakes on Friday," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "Our doubles teams played much more aggressive today and that resulted in a very quick doubles point. When you come out and make a statement like that in doubles it pours over to the singles. Georgia Southern fought hard in the opening sets of singles, but we did a good job of sticking to the game-plan on each court, we took 5 of 6 first sets and that really secured the match momentum."
UCF's 21st-ranked duo of senior Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain) and junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) clinched the doubles point for UCF with an 8-3 win at the No. 1 spot against Gregory Bekkers and Juan Melian Puigventos. The Knights swept the Eagles in doubles competition.
In singles competition Rocafort eased into a 6-0, 6-3 win at No. 1 over Jayraj Jadeja. Fellow seniors Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) and Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) helped contribute to the win for the Knights.
Beigart defeated Alain Garrido, 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4. Facing Bekkers at No. 3, Sakey recorded a 6-2, 6-1 victory. UCF's other singles triumphs came from freshman Mario Samson (Miami, Fla.) and junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.). Samson claimed the No. 6 position defeating Justin Flynn, 6-3, 6-2. The final win came from Schwartz at the No. 5 spot over Matthijs Verdam, 6-4, 6-3.
With the defeat, Georgia Southern drops to 1-4 on the season.
Cashman's Knights will continue the action Saturday when they travel to Deland, Fla. where they will face Stetson at 1 p.m. at the Mandy Stoll Tennis Center.
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 6, Georgia Southern 1
Singles Competition
1. Marc Rocafort (UCF) def. Jayraj Jadeja (GSU) 6-0, 6-3
2. Juan Melian Puigventos (GSU) def. Nino Hasandedic (UCF) 7-6(2), 6-3
3. Brock Sakey (UCF) def. Gregory Bekkers (GSU) 6-2, 6-1
4. Johan Beigart (UCF) def. Alain Garrido (GSU) 6-4, 6-2
5. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) def. Matthijs Verdam (GSU) 6-4, 6-3
6. Mario Samson (UCF) def. Justin Flynn (GSU) 6-3, 6-2
Doubles Competition
1. (21) Rocafort/Schwartz (UCF) def. Bekkers/Melian Puigventos (GSU) 8-3
2. Beigart/Delinks (UCF) def. Flynn/Jadeja (GSU) 8-2
3. Romano/Sakey (UCF) def. Garrido/Verdam (GSU) 8-0