COLUMBUS, Ohio (UCFKnights.com) - A tremendous season came to an end as the No. 28 UCF men's tennis team clinched the doubles point but ultimately fell to No. 42 Louisville, 4-3, on Friday during the first round of the NCAA Tournament at the Ohio State University Varsity Tennis Center.
"Louisville played a very good match today," head coach John Roddick said. "They deserve a lot of credit, coming out and winning five first sets after we got the doubles point."
The Knights duo of Danny Kerznerman and Korey Lovett, who are ranked No. 72, secured the first doubles victory with a 7-5 win on court two. Chris Barrus and Kalman Boyd fought back from being down 3-1 to clinch the point with a 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker victory.
"I am very proud of our guys' effort to fight back in the second sets in singles and push it to the very end," said Roddick. "This group showed a ton of fight all year, and they gave it their best shot again today. I couldn't be prouder of a group of young men."
In singles, the Black and Gold got off to a rocky start and only tallied two singles wins. No. 42 Lovett posted the second point for UCF with a three-set victory against No. 111 Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff. After dropping the first set, 7-6 (5), the Brevard, N.C., native bounced back, winning six straight games to force a third set. Lovett held his momentum, winning 6-2 in the third.
Mariano Porter added the last point for the Knights. The Cuernavaca, Mexico native trailed 4-1 in the first set, but battled back to tie it up 6-6. Porter held on for a 7-6 (9-7) first set victory. In the second set, Porter went back and forth with Louisville's George Hedley. All tied up at 4-4, the senior took a 5-4 lead and didn't look back, winning the second 6-4.
Friday marked the last match for seniors Barrus, Porter, Reece Acree, Harrison Richmond and Arjun Watane. They wrap up their careers with their best record (16-7), best win percentage (.696) and highest finish in the conference tournament (second). They also received the program's first at-large bid, and highest team ranking.
Lovett still has more playing time left this season. He will compete in the NCAA Singles Championships held at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex on the campus of the University of Georgia. The round of 64 is scheduled to begin on May 24.
Results (Order of Finish)
Doubles (1,2,3)
1). No. 23 Sean Donohue/Parker Wynn (LOU) d. No. 64 Mariano Porter/Harrison Richmond (UCF), 6-3
2). No. 72 Korey Lovett/Danny Kerznerman (UCF) d. Nicolas Rouanet/Ciro Lampasas (LOU), 7-5
3). Chris Barrus/ Kalman Boyd (UCF) d. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff/George Hedley (LOU), 7-6 (7-5)
Singles (2,6,1,4,5,3)
1). No. 42 Korey Lovett (UCF) d. Christopher Morin-Kougoucheff (LOU), 6-7 (7-5,), 6-0, 6-2
2). Parker Wynn (LOU) d. Harrison Richmond (UCF), 7-5, 6-3
3). Nicolas Rouanet (LOU) d. Danny Kerznerman (UCF), 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
4). Mariano Porter (UCF) d. George Hedley (LOU), 7-6 (9-7), 6-4
5). Brandon Lancaster (LOU) d. Chris Barrus (UCF), 6-4, 1-6, 6-3
6). Clement Filho (LOU) d. Kalman Boyd (UCF), 7-5, 6-3