ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Following a two-hour and 20-minute rain delay, the UCF men's tennis team nearly knocked off No. 33 Cornell before falling 4-3.
"It is disappointing to come out on the losing end of that match," UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. "We had a tentative start in doubles play and that cost us."
The Knights saw their three-match winning streak come to an end after Juan Bolona dropped a long fought second-set tiebreaker and third set to Jason Luu at the No. 6 position (4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2).
UCF dropped only its second match in eight attempts this year at the UCF Tennis Complex and now hold a 9-7 record on the season.
UCF lost the doubles point to begin the afternoon. Shortly after, Jorge Blasco started a new winning-streak at the No. 1 position when Venkat Iyer retired four serves into the match due to injury.
At the No. 4 position, Matthew Gladstone dominated Quoc-Daniel Nguyen, 6-1, 6-1 in less than an hour of play to put the Knights ahead by one point.
After Francesc Aulina won the first set 6-3 over Kyle Berman, the sophomore then rallied after being down 4-3 in the second set to win in straight sets and extend the Knights' lead to two points. The native from Spain has now won five consecutive matches at the No. 6 position.
With the Knights up 3-1 and on the verge of knocking-off a nationally ranked opponent, No. 33 Cornell fought back to win two straight matches over UCF.
UCF will aim to start a new winning-streak when it returns to the courts Saturday against Troy. Action will begin at 2 p.m. at the UCF Tennis Complex and admission is free to the public.
Doubles:
1. Jason Luu/Quoc-Daniel Nguyen def. Amar Hromic/Jorge Blasco 8-3
2. Kyle Berman/Sam Fleck def. Matthew Gladstone/Juan Bolona 8-6
3. Alex Sidney/Alexander Wilton led. Mario Samson/Francesc Aulina 7-6
Singles:
1. Jorge Blasco def. Venkat Iyer 1-0 (retired)
2. Sam Fleck def. Jose Sangroniz 6-2, 6-1
3. Alex Sidney def. Amar Hromic 6-4, 4-6, 7-5
4. Matthew Gladstone def. Quoc-Daniel Nguyen 6-1, 6-1
5. Jason Luu def. Juan Bolona 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2
6. Francesc Aulina def. Kyle Berman 6-3, 6-4