March 30, 2013
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By Mike Garabedian
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - On a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon, the UCF men's tennis team was shutout 7-0 by No. 63 UNC-Wilmington at the UCF Tennis Complex.
"This was a tough loss for us," assistant coach Jordie Kindervater said. "We had chances to turn the match in our favor late in singles and we came up short. It's as simple as that."
The Knights are now 10-8 on the season and 7-3 at the UCF Tennis Complex. Seven of the eight defeats have come against nationally ranked opponents.
Despite the lopsided score, the contest was closer than it looked with five of the six singles matches decided by a third set.
"We lost five third sets today; clearly UNCW did a better job stepping up when it was time to do so," Kindervater added.
Facing two top-50 duos during doubles action, the Knights dropped the doubles point to begin the afternoon.
At the No. 6 slot, Francesc Aulina lost the first set 6-3. Aiming to keep his five match winning-streak alive, the redshirt sophomore fought back and forced a decisive third set. Aulina never seemed to get into a groove in the third set and was eventually topped by Zach Hublitz (6-3, 3-6 6-1), which gave him his first loss since March 2.
Juan Bolona's rally came to a halt, after he was defeated (6-3, 3-6, 6-3) at the No. 5 position by Kosta Blank in the third set 6-3. The point clinched the Seahawks their 13th victory of the year.
After winning the first set against the No. 36 ranked singles player in the nation, Jorge Blasco dropped the next two sets and was knocked off by Rafael Aita, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. The senior is now 2-2 at the No. 1 position against nationally ranked opponents.
In the last match to finish of the afternoon, Jose Sangroniz and Chris Cooprider went back-and-forth at the No. 2 spot the entire match. With the third set tied at 3, the freshman took the lead by winning the next game but his momentum was slowed and he was ultimately defeated, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.
The Knights are off for Easter and do not return to the court until Thursday, when they are set for a 2 p.m. showdown with Bethune-Cookman at the UCF Tennis Complex.
Stay social with the team by following on twitter @UCFM_Tennis and liking the UCF men's tennis Facebook page.
Doubles:
1. Kosta Blank/Chris Cooprider def. Amar Hromic/Jorge Blasco 8-4
2. Rafael Aita/Sam Williams def. Matthew Gladstone/Juan Bolona 8-3
3. Michael Reilly/Kaue Pereira def. Francesc Aulina/Mario Samson 8-4
Singles:
1. Rafael Aita def. Jorge Blasco 4-6, 6-1, 6-2
2. Chris Cooprider def. Jose Sangroniz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4
3. Sam Williams def. Amar Hromic 6-1, 6-1
4. Kaue Pereira def. Matthew Gladstone 4-6, 7-5, 6-1
5. Kosta Blank def. Juan Bolona 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
6. Zach Hublitz def. Francesc Aulina 6-3, 3-6, 6-1