TULSA, Okla. (UCFKnights.com) – The duo of Gabriel Decamps and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi has been the bright spot for the Knights after two days of the main draw at the ITA All-American Championships. They've defeated two top 20 doubles tandems to advance to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
DAY ONE
Before getting to day two, day one saw a monumental win for No. 29 Decamps in singles play. He defeated Bar Botzer of Wake Forest who is currently ranked No. 15 in the nation. Decamps topped Botzer in straight sets by a count of 6-3, 6-2. Botzer will likely be Wake Forest's No. 1 singles player after graduating their former No. 1 Petros Chrysochos, who topped Decamps in the dual match season.
As for doubles, Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi teamed up to defeat Texas Tech's Bjorn Thompson and Parker Wynn by a count of 6-1, 6-4. The Texas Tech duo is currently tabbed as the No. 2 pair in the nation. The win would advance the duo to the round of 16.
Decamps was the only UCF singles player to reach the main draw. The win sent him to the round of 32. The other three Knights in singles play never reached the main draw. Grassi Mazzuchi fell to Virginia's Ryan Goetz in a tight match 6-4, 6-4 in the second round of qualifiers. Alan Rubio also was defeated in the second round of the qualifying draw, as he was topped by Troy's Pelayo Antuna 6-3, 6-0. Pavel fell in his qualifying draw consolation match to Melios Efstathiou of Wake Forest by a count of 6-2, 6-2, putting an end to his tournament.
DAY TWO
UCF's duo stayed hot on Thursday, winning at closely contested match against Illinois' Alex Brown and Aleks Kovacevic by a tally of 7-5, 6-4. The tandem was ranked No. 19 in the nation. Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi will advance to the Elite Eight of the ITA All-American Championships main draw and square off against Princeton's Payton Holden and Ryan Seggerman on Friday not before 7:30 p.m. ET. The Tiger tandem is ranked No. 15 in the country.
Decamps' run at the singles title at the All-American Championships came to a close on Thursday as he fell to No. 24 Giovanni Oradini in a tight three set battle, 2-6, 6-0, 6-4.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men's Tennis on social media on Facebook (/UCF.MTennis), Twitter (UCF_MTennis) and Instagram (UCF.MTennis).
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news. Click here to download the app now.