Feb. 13, 2016
Final Stats
UCF-UNF Stats | Final Stats
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF men's tennis team won its second straight with a 5-2 victory over No. 66 North Florida at the UCF Tennix Complex on Saturday.
"We had another electric atomosphere," head coach Bobby Cashman said. "We have to thank everyone for coming out on a Saturday to help our guys pull out a gritty win over an in-state rival school. We were thrilled with the effort and energy from our team today."
UCF (2-3) tallied the first win of the day with senior Jose Sangroniz and sophomore Tyler Pate earning the 6-3 at No. 2 doubles. UNF evened things up with a win at No. 1 doubles. With the doubles point on the line, junior Mariano Porter and freshman Jack Thiessen played to a tiebreaker. The duo delivered, giving UCF a 1-0 lead heading to singles.
"Winning the doubles gave us confidence going into singles," Porter said. "We were motivated to stay on track."
Junior Chris Barrus extended the lead in singles action with a straight set win on court three. His 6-3, 6-1 win gave the Knights a 2-0 lead. Sophomore Nico De Fraia followed with a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 5 singles to push the advantage to 3-0.
UNF tallied its first point on court six, but junior Inaki Espindola, playing No. 1 in singles for the first time, responded with a 6-4, 6-3 win to clinch the UCF victory.
Porter added to the Black and Gold lead on court four. After falling in the first set, he bounced back in set two, 6-2, and earned the win with a 6-1 win in the third.
The Knights will continue at the UCF Tenn is Complex on Feb. 19, hosting Florida Gulf Coast at 2 p.m.
Chris Barrus on the win: It was a great match from the guys today. We had solid performances from everyone throughout the day. I loved to hear the support from the crowd today, and we had a very fun Kids Day following the match. I'm proud of the way this team is stepping up and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season.
Inaki Espindola on clinching: I was pretty happy with the way the team competed today. We brought the necessary energy to beat a tough team like UNF. I'm also happy that I clinched the win for us. Last year I lost the match to clinch against them and this year it was the opposite.
UCF 5, No. 66 North Florida 2
Singles competition
1. Inaki Espindola (UCF) def. Yannick Zuern (UNF) 6-4, 6-3
2. Lasse Muscheites (UNF) def. Jose Sangroniz (UCF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
3. Chris Barrus (UCF) def. Jonathan Deautriell (UNF) 6-3, 6-1
4. Mariano Porter (UCF) def. Zach Goldberg (UNF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-1
5. Nico De Fraia (UCF) def. Andrey Alawi (UNF) 6-2, 6-0
6. Sahil Deshmukh (UNF) def. Jack Thiessen (UCF) 6-2, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Lasse Muscheites/Zach Goldberg (UNF) def. Chris Barrus/Inaki Espindola (UCF) 7-5
2. Tyler Pate/Jose Sangroniz (UCF) def. Sahil Deshmukh/Jonathan Deautriell (UNF) 6-3
3. Mariano Porter/Jack Thiessen (UCF) def. Andrey Alawi/Yannick Zuern (UNF) 7-6 (4)
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1,3); Singles (3,5,6,1,4,2)
Story by Megan Herboth; Photos by Brad Helton