ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com)—The UCF men's tennis team earned its second victory this weekend with a 4-1 win over New Mexico on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.
"I think New Mexico played really, really hard and really well today," said head coach John Roddick. "We expected them to come out and compete. When talking to other coaches, I heard a lot about how well they compete and how hard they fight. We put ourselves in a position to win the match in a lot of different spots towards the end and we were there battling it out in third sets. It was fun to watch two teams give that kind of an effort."
The Knights clinched the doubles point with victories on court one and court three. Nationally-ranked Mariano Porter and Harrison Richmond defeated Rudolfo Jauregui and Ricky Hernandez-Tong 7-6 (5) at the top spot, while Enrique Paya and Chris Barrus posted a 7-6 (4) victory over Sean Baklini and Jorge Escutia on the third court.
In singles, junior Korey Lovett put the Knights up 2-0 when he earned a 6-3, 6-4 win over Bart Van Leijsen on the top court. UCF dropped a match on court two, which put the score at 2-1. Redshirt senior Harrison Richmond came back after dropping the first set, to clinch a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory at the third positon, putting the Knights up 3-1. Junior Danny Kerznerman clinched the match with a 6-2, 7-6 (8) victory over Sean Baklini on the sixth court
"At the end, that second set tiebreaker could've gone either way," Roddick said. "To come up with the shot that he (Kerznerman) did on match point and to let loose and go after it, is what we've talked about. It was a heck of a shot to finish a match like that."
The Knights wrap up the holiday weekend with a noon match against Arizona on Monday, Jan. 16 at noon at the USTA National Campus.
Results
Singles:
1). K. Lovett (UCF) d. Bart Van Leijsen 6-4, 6-3
2). Ricky Hernandez-Tong d. K. Boyd (UCF) 6-4, 6-2
3). H. Richmond (UCF) d. Rudolfo Jauregui 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
4). M. Porter (UCF) vs. Dominic West 7-6 (4), 4-6, 1-2 DNF
5). C. Barrus (UCF) vs. Jorge Escutia 4-6, 6-4, 4-5 DNF
6). D. Kerznerman (UCF) d. Sean Baklini 6-2, 7-6(8)
Doubles:
1). Richmond/Porter (UCF) d. Jauregui/Hernandez-Tong 7-6 (5)
2). Van Leijsen/West d. Boyd/Lovett (UCF) 6-2
3). Paya/Barrus (UCF) d. Baklini/Escutia 7-6 (4)
Order of Finish
Singles (2,1,3,6)
Doubles (2,1,3)