ATHENS, Ga. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's tennis team concluded the Southern Intercollegiates on Sunday as the Knights completed their first tournament of the fall. The tournament was headlined by solid singles play as multiple Knights reached the finals of their respective main and consolation draws. Mikhail Sokolovskiy was also part of a doubles tandem that were runners up in their respective draw.
On day one of the tournament, Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi knocked off the No. 2 seed of the tournament, nationally ranked Ewan Moore of Tulane by a score of 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Saturday saw Grassi Mazzuchi play in two matches, defeating Ronan Jachuck of Harvard 6-3, 7-6 (8-6) before advancing to defeat Georgia's Blake Croyder 6-4, 6-4. The win over Croyder advanced Grassi Mazzuchi to the final of the black singles draw. In his tournament finale, Grassi Mazzuchi fell to Florida's Durate Vale by a score of 6-2, 6-2. Vale was the No. 3 seed in the black singles draw and is ranked 52nd in the nation.
Bogdan Pavel was also part of the black singles draw. In a tight contest, Pavel fell to Florida's Blaise Bicknell 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (8-6). On Saturday in the consolation side of the bracket, Pavel got a bye and then advanced on a walkover. In the semifinals, Pavel defeated Tulane's Dane Esses 6-1, 6-4. Pavel matched up with Siphosothando Montsi of Illinois in what turned out to be a very tightly contested consolation final. Pavel wound up falling 7-6 (7-2), 6-7 (5-7), 10-3 and ended his tournament as the runner-up in the consolation bracket.
Sokolovskiy and Alan Rubio were in the red singles draw and both found their way into the consolation bracket after their first matches.
Sokolovskiy was matched up with Tulane's Hamish Steward in the first round. Sokolovskiy would lose the first set 7-6 (8-6) before going down 4-1 in the second set, where he had to retire. In the consolation bracket, Sokolovskiy defeated Florida's Brian Berdusco 6-2, 6-3.
Meanwhile, Rubio lost his first-round match against the No. 4 seed of the bracket, Josh Goodger of Florida by a count of 7-5, 6-4. He would go on to defeat Georgia's Robert Loeb 6-4, 6-4.
With both UCF wins, Rubio and Sokolovskiy were slated to faceoff against each other. The two didn't have a chance to compete though as Rubio advanced to the consolation final on a walkover. In the, consolation final, Rubio would edge LSU's Mailk Bhatnagar 4-6, 7-5, 10-8.
Trey Hilderbrand was supposed to play both singles and doubles but had to withdraw from the tournament.
For the doubles portion of the tournament, UCF's Sokolovskiy was paired with Georgia's Samuel Dromsky. The Knight/Bulldog pair defeated the No. 4 seed in the black doubles draw, Clemson's Giusca/Vialmin 6-4 and Georgia Tech's Schelcher/Yun 7-5 on day one. Day two saw the UCF/Georgia tandem take down Miami's Smith/Madonia 6-2 to advance to the black doubles final. The championship match saw Tulane's Stuewart/Esses defeat the pair by a close 6-4 margin as Sokolovskiy and Dromsky ended their tournament as the runner-up.
The duo of Grassi Mazzuchi and Rubio went 0-3 in the red doubles segment of the tournament, losing to Wake Forest's Botzer/Nava 6-2, LSU's Kozlov/Bhatnagar 6-4 and Tulane's Moore/Erienbusch 6-3.
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The Knights will take part in the ITA All-American Championships from Oct. 5-13 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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