March 11, 2016
Final Stats
UCF vs. ETSU (3/11/16) - Images by UCF Knights
UCF - No. 67 ETSU Stats
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) - The men's tennis fell short against No. 67 East Tennessee State on Friday, dropping a 4-0 decision to the Buccaneers at the UCF Tennis Complex.
The doubles point was critical, assistant coach Brandon Stokes said. All credit goes to ETSU for making the plays. Singles was a toss-up. We needed more first set victories and did not earn it. Again, credit to ETSU. We battled, but came up short. We are eager to get back on the court Sunday morning.
The Knights opened doubles action with a win from juniors Christ Barrus and Inaki Espindola at No. 1. The duo topped Rogerio Riberio and David Biosca, who are ranked No. 47 in the ITA doubles rankings, 6-1.
ETSU used a 6-4 win on court three force the decisive point to No. 2 doubles. Junior Reece Acree and sophomore Tyler Pate battled, but dropped the tiebreaker to give ETSU the 1-0 lead.
The Buccaneers extended their lead with a win at No. 1 singles, and pushed out to a 3-0 lead with a win on court four.
On court five, Acree bounced back after dropping his first set to take the second set, 6-1, but Sebastian Yllera clinched the ETSU victory with a third-set win.
Barrus, play No. 2 singles, and Pate, playing No. 6 singles, each took a set, but were unable tally points for the Black and Gold.
The Knights are back in action on Sunday, hosting Cleveland State. Due to inclement weather in the area, the match time has been moved up to 9 a.m. at the UCF Tennis Complex.
No. 67 East Tennessee State 4, UCF 0
Singles competition
1. #76 David Biosca (ETSU) def. Inaki Espindola (UCF) 6-3, 6-0
2. Chris Barrus (UCF) vs. Rogerio Ribeiro (ETSU) 7-6 (3), 2-1, unfinished
3. Mariano Porter (UCF) vs. Diego Nunez (ETSU) 3-6, 4-5, unfinished
4. Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Nico De Fraia (UCF) 6-4, 6-1
5. Sebastian Yllera (ETSU) def. Reece Acree (UCF) 6-1, 1-6, 6-1
6. Tyler Pate (UCF) vs. Ricardo Pabon (ETSU) 6-1, 3-6, 1-1, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Chris Barrus/Inaki Espindola (UCF) def. #47 Rogerio Ribeiro/David Biosca (ETSU) 6-1
2. Diego Nunez/Robert Herrera (ETSU) def. Reece Acree/Tyler Pate (UCF) 7-6 (3)
3. Ismael Merino/Sebastian Yllera (ETSU) def. Mariano Porter/Jack Thiessen (UCF) 6-4
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,4,5)
Story by Megan Herboth; Photos by Brad Helton