LOS ANGELES, Calif. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's tennis team claimed an early two-point lead in Saturday's ITA Kickoff Weekend match at the L.A. Tennis Center against Utah State.
Despite the quick advantage, the Knights (0-2) could not halt the Aggies (3-1) from surging to take four straight singles points and win 4-2.
"Utah State fought hard and deserved to win in the end," Director of Tennis John Roddick said. "We have a lot to work on to get better. We have a good opportunity tomorrow to see if we can improve and compete better."
The Black and Gold struck first in the doubles portion with a pair of decisive wins. Rookie duo Gabriel Decamps and Mikhail Sokolovskiy cruised to a 6-2 win over Valdemar Holm and Andrew Nakajima at No. 2. Soon after, No. 3 pairing Danny Kerznerman and Alan Rubio put the Black and Gold ahead by topping Sergiu Bucur and Samuel Serrano 6-2.
Decamps wasted little time to put the Knights up by two in singles. The Brazilian international picked up his first career collegiate win in straight sets over Serrano, 6-1, 6-1.
The Aggies rallied to take a 3-2 lead in the back half of the lineup with wins at No. 4, 5 and 6. Jose Carvajal edged Eero Vasa 6-2, 6-4, Valdemar Holm topped Sokolovskiy 6-4, 7-5 and Felipe Acosta bested Kerznerman 6-3, 6-2.
UCF needed points out of Rubio and Korey Lovett, at No. 3 and 1, respectively, to stay in the match. After Lovett took the opening set, the senior went to back-to-back tiebreaks, falling 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(3) to Jaime Barajas to close out the contest.
When the match concluded, Rubio was in the midst of a second-set tiebreak after winning the opening frame 6-4 against Bucur.
UCF will play UC Davis tomorrow at Noon (ET).
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