March 15, 2011
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Playing a nationally-ranked team for the third-consecutive match, the UCF men's tennis team fell to No. 27 Tulsa, 6-1, at the UCF Tennis Complex Tuesday. The Knights were led by junior Joe Delinks (Falmouth, Mass.), who picked up a singles victory.
The Golden Hurricane improved to 12-4 on the year with the win. Tulsa took the doubles point, and finished the day by winning five of six singles matches. UCF fell to 6-9 with the loss.
Facing two nationally-ranked tandems, the Knights nearly pulled off two upsets in doubles. At No. 1, junior Eugene Dolgovykh (Palm Coast, Fla.) and freshman Matthew Zachary (Bossier City, La.) came up just short against No. 20 Clifford Marsland and Ashley Watling, losing 9-8. Against No. 67 Japie De Klerk and Marcelo Arevalo at No. 2, Delinks and senior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) battled hard before falling 9-8.
Delinks was victorious at No. 4 singles, where he rallied to beat Tristan Jackson (3-6, 6-3, 10-7). At the top spot, Arevalo, ranked 59th in the nation, got past Schwartz, 7-5, 6-0.
The contest concluded a 10-match homestand for the Knights. The homestand began on Feb. 18.
"We played tough in doubles but unfortunately came up short, losing two of those in tiebreakers and the third by one break of serve," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "We need to continue getting better at closing out sets and fighting for every point. We are finding out that just one or two points can change the whole outcome of the match."
UCF will return to action on Friday, starting a stretch of three contests in three days in Houston against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
#27 Tulsa 6, UCF 1
Singles competition
1. #59 Marcelo Arevalo (TLS) def. Blaze Schwartz (UCF) 7-5, 6-0
2. #123 Japie De Klerk (TLS) def. Erik Brunskog (UCF) 6-2, 6-2
3. #123 Clifford Marsland (TLS) def. Claudio Romano (UCF) 6-3, 6-2
4. Joe Delinks (UCF) def. Tristan Jackson (TLS) 3-6, 6-3, 10-7
5. Grant Ive (TLS) def. Mitch Thams (UCF) 7-5, 6-1
6. Alastair Barnes (TLS) def. Mario Samson (UCF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #20 Clifford Marsland/Ashley Watling (TLS) def. Eugene Dolgovykh/Matthew Zachary (UCF) 9-8
2. #67 Japie De Klerk/Marcelo Arevalo (TLS) def. Blaze Schwartz/Joe Delinks (UCF) 9-8
3. Grant Ive/Rusty Turpin (TLS) def. Claudio Romano/Mitch Thams (UCF) 8-5