Feb. 27, 2016
UCF-Arizona Stats
NEW ORLEANS, La. (UCFKnights.com) - The UCF men's tennis team battled Arizona at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center, but came up short as the Wildcats clinched the 4-3 victory.
Arizona claimed two of the three courts in doubles action to take a 1-0 lead in the match. The Wildcats extended their advantage with a win at No. 1 singles, but the Knights chipped away at the lead.
Junior Reece Acree cut the lead in half with a straight-set win on court six. He posted matchinig 6-4 scores to defeat Oliver Plaskett.
"It felt good to get the first win for us and turn the momentum in our direction," Acree said. "We had a tough match today, but we will use it and bounce back for tomorrow's match against Tulane."
Sophomore Nico De Fraia evened the match at 2-2 with a straight-set victory at No. 5 singles. Junior Inaki Espindola gave UCF the lead with a 6-0, 7-5 win at No. 2 singles, but Arizona responded with a win on court three.
The decisive point came on court four. After junior Mariano Porter dropped the first set, he stormed back to win the second set, 6-4. Arizona's Will Kneale clinched the win for the Wildcats with a 6-3 win in the third set.
"The match was very close, and we had chances," De Fraia said. "Some people played very well, and others came up a little short. We are looking forward to tomorrow's match and getting better every day."
UCF returns to action on Sunday, facing No. 33 Tulane at the City Park Pepsi Tennis Center. The match is slated for a 2 p.m. ET start.
Assistant Coach Brandon Stokes says:
"It's was an exciting match and particularly loud for a neutral site match; tons of energy by both teams. As most tennis matches go as you climb the ladder of skill, they all come down to just a couple of moments. How do we handle the between point time so we are at our courageous best to start the point? Match point happens way before the final match point occurs.
"Our guys battled, but the credit goes to the winning team. They were better in crucial moments. This was a wonderful college tennis experience, and we thank our loyal fans who flew and drove to support our Knights.
"We are excited about our match tomorrow against a highly-ranked and talented team in Tulane. Conference rivals are always fun."
Arizona 4, UCF 3
Singles competition
1. #96 Naoki Takeda (ARIZONA) def. Jose Sangroniz (UCF) 6-1, 6-2
2. Inaki Espindola (UCF) def. Harry Busby (ARIZONA) 6-0, 7-5
3. Jason Jaruvang (ARIZONA) def. Chris Barrus (UCF) 6-1, 7-5
4. Will Kneale (ARIZONA) def. Mariano Porter (UCF) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
5. Nico De Fraia (UCF) def. Trent Botha (ARIZONA) 6-4, 6-3
6. Reece Acree (UCF) def. Oliver Plaskett (ARIZONA) 6-4, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Will Kneale/Oliver Plaskett (ARIZONA) def. Chris Barrus/Inaki Espindola (UCF) 6-3
2. Naoki Takeda/Will Adkisson (ARIZONA) def. Tyler Pate/Jose Sangroniz (UCF) 6-4
3. Mariano Porter/Jack Thiessen (UCF) vs. Shoki Kasahara/Jason Jaruvang (ARIZONA) 5-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (1,6,5,2,3,4)
Story by Megan Herboth; Photos by Brad Helton