ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's tennis team (9-5) ended No. 29 South Alabama's (16-3) 15-match winning streak with a 6-1 victory on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.
"I think we came out really strong in the doubles and I felt that South Alabama played a good doubles point as well, obviously it came down to the wire there," head coach John Roddick said. "I think it really helped us coming into singles. To win six first sets against a team like that, after winning the doubles point is a big accomplishment. I especially think we bounced back after our last match, the disappointment against Tulsa. I think it was really hard on the team (the loss) and to come out like that and play as well as we did today, to have one of the best wins we've ever had (ranking wise), I'm really proud of our effort and determination in bouncing back. It says a lot about the character of our team."
The Knights jumped out to a good start clinching the doubles point with victories on court two and court three. Senior Chris Barrus and freshman Enrique Paya earned a quick 6-2 victory against Tuki Jacobs and Lucas Gonzalez at No. 3. Junior Korey Lovett and junior Danny Kerznerman sealed the doubles point with a 7-6 (7-3) win on the second court.
In singles, the Knights took the first set away from the Jaguars on all six courts. A quick 6-0, 6-3 win by sophomore Kalman Boyd gave UCF a 2-0 lead. Barrus extended the lead to 3-0 by defeating Clement Marzol, 6-4, 6-3.
Senior Mariano Porter was up 5-2 in the first set, but dropped four straight games to head to a tiebreaker. Porter took the tiebreaker 7-2. The Cuernavaca, Mexico native went up again 5-2 in the second set and held serve to clinch the match 6-2.
On court four, Kerznerman took the first set 6-2 against Olivier Gingras. He trailed 5-2 in the second set, holding off numerous set points, but dropped the second 6-4. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native regained momentum and added the fifth point to the overall total with a 6-3 third set win.
Redshirt senior Harrison Richmond took the first set away from No. 82 Jacobs, 6-2. The two players went toe-for-toe in the second. Jacobs took the second set 7-5 to force a third. Even though the match was clinched, Richmond and Jacobs decided to play out a full third set instead of playing just a tiebreaker.
Jacobs used the momentum from the second to take a 5-1 lead but Richmond had enough. Richmond, the Pawsley Island, S.C., native won five consecutive games to take a 6-5 lead. Jacobs held off two match points to force a third-set tiebreaker. Richmond went up 4-0 in the tiebreaker, but Jacobs tried to close the gap adding two points. UCF's redshirt senior won the next three points to win the match and add the sixth point to the overall total.
The Knights head out to Fort Myers, Fla., to take on Florida Gulf Coast on Sunday, March 19 at 1 p.m.
Results (Order of Finish)
Doubles (1,3,2)
1). Loic Cloes/ Juan Cruz Soria (USA) d. No. 78 Harrison Richmond/ Mariano Porter (UCF), 6-2
2). Korey Lovett/ Danny Kerznerman (UCF) d. Olivier Gingras/ Clement Marzol (USA), 7-6 (7-3)
3). Chris Barrus/ Enrique Paya (UCF) d. Tuki Jacobs/ Lucas Gonzalez (USA), 6-2.
Singles (6,3,5,4,1,2)
1). Juan Cruz Soria (USA) d. No. 44 Korey Lovett (UCF), 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4
2). Harrison Richmond (UCF) d. No. 82 Tuki Jacobs (USA), 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 (7-2)
3). Chris Barrus (UCF) d. Clement Marzol (USA), 6-3, 6-4
4). Danny Kerznerman (UCF) d. Olivier Gingras (USA), 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
5). Mariano Porter (UCF) d. Loic Cloes (USA), 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
6). Kalman Boyd (UCF) d. Lucas Gonzalez (USA), 6-0, 6-3