ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's tennis team battled back to beat No. 50 Miami 4-3 Sunday at the USTA National Campus for their third straight victory.
"Both teams competed really well, it was a fun match," said UCF Director of Tennis, John Roddick. "It's always a lot easier when you've been talking about things, and working on them and then when you get the win to reinforce that, it makes it a lot easier."
After dropping the doubles point, The Knights (7-6, 0-0) knew they'd be in for a battle, having to win four of six singles matches for a win.
Adria Soriano put Miami (8-6, 0-3) ahead 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-1 win at No. 2 over Gabriel DeCamps to put the Black and Gold into an even bigger hole.
UCF would grind out the remaining matches, taking four of the last five for the victory.
It started at No. 3, when No. 124 Alan Rubio defeated Bojan Jankulovski, 6-3, 6-1 to put the Knights on the board.
Miami would take one more court, No. 1, when No. 99 Christian Langmo beat Korey Lovett, 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 to put the 'Canes up 3-1.
Eero Vasa cut into the lead to make it 3-2, after a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 5 over Tatsuki Shimamoto.
The remaining two matches provided plenty of drama and momentum changes.
Danny Kerznerman was able to bounce back at No. 6 after a tough second set, and an even tougher back-and-forth third set to prevail over Niclas Genovese, 6-4, 0-6, 7-5 to tie it up 3-3.
For the second consecutive match, Mikhail Sokolovskiy would be the hero for the clincher. The freshman found himself on the ropes multiple times in a lengthy three-set match, but was able to persevere over Dane Dunlap, 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6) for the Knights third straight victory.
UP NEXT
The Knights will next face Arkansas on Wednesday, March 21 at the USTA National Campus for a 6 p.m. match.
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UCF 4, #50 University of Miami 3
Singles competition
1. #99 Christian Langmo (UM) def. Korey Lovett (UCF-M) 7-5, 4-6, 6-1
2. Adria Soriano (UM) def. Gabriel DeCamps (UCF-M) 6-4, 6-1
3. #124 Alan Rubio (UCF-M) def. Bojan Jankulovski (UM) 6-3, 6-1
4. Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF-M) def. Dane Dunlap (UM) 7-5, 6-7 (4-7), 7-6 (8-6)
5. Eero Vasa (UCF-M) def. Tatsuki Shimamoto (UM) 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
6. Danny Kerznerman (UCF-M) def. Niclas Genovese (UM) 6-4, 0-6, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Christian Langmo / Adria Soriano (UM) def. #11 Korey Lovett/Eero Vasa (UCF-M) 6-3
2. Dane Dunlap / Bojan Jankulovski (UM) def. Gabriel DeCamps/Danny Kerznerman (UCF-M) 7-5
3. Enrique Paya / Alan Rubio (UCF-M) def. Niclas Genovese/Tatsuki Shimamoto (UM) 6-1
Match Notes: University of Miami 8-6; National ranking #50 UCF 7-6 Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,3,1,5,4)
