ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's tennis team was competing in two different states on Friday as Gabriel Decamps and Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi were competing in the ITA All-Americans in Tulsa, Okla. while a host of other Knights were participating in the Bedford Cup in Tallahassee, Fla.
ITA ALL AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
UCF's Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi made it through the qualifying round of the ITA All American Championships and have now made their way to the final four of the main doubles draw. The Knight duo faced Princeton's No. 15 Payton Holden and Ryan Seggerman in the quarterfinals. The Black and Gold tandem took the first set with ease and eventually went on to win 6-1, 7-6(2).
The victory sends Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi to the semifinals of the main doubles draw. UCF will face Oklahoma State's No. 18 Dominik Kellovsky and Matej Vocel on Saturday with a trip to the championship match on the line.
The semifinals match is virtually a rematch of when UCF and Oklahoma State played each other in the 2019 dual match season. Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi defeated Vocel and Artur Dubinski by a score of 6-3 back on March 20.
BEDFORD CUP
UCF found success in doubles play to begin their run at the Bedford Cup as each duo won every match they played in today. Mikhail Sokolovskiy and Bogdan Pavel as well as Alan Rubio and Manoel Alencar teamed up in the doubles "A" draw while Vasyl Kiselyov and Saitejas Mopuri were set up in the "B" draw.
Rubio and Alencar began the day with an 8-6 win over USF's Jacob Wojcik and Ivan Yatsuk to advance to the quarterfinals. They'll face FSU's Bryn Nahrung and Richard Thongoana on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
Pavel and Sokolovskiy also picked up a win, edging Stetson's Linus Bergevi and Antoine Sanchez in a tight match by a score of 8-7(0). The Knight duo will face FGCU's Felipe Ramirez and Guglielmo Stefanacci in the quarterfinals on Saturday at 8:30 a.m.
In the "B" draw, Kiselyov and Mopuri received a bye and faced Bethune Cookman's Phillip Lynch and Nicolas Rodriguez in the quarterfinals. The UCF pair topped Lynch and Rodriguez by a count of 8-5 to advance to the semifinals where they will face Stetson's Tim Gennes and Christian Mills at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.
The Knights would have four singles hunting for the Bedford Cup in the "A" draw and two more in the "B" draw.
Aiming to defend his Bedford Cup victory last fall, No. 84 Rubio ripped off two wins in the singles tournament, advancing him all the way to the quarterfinals. In the round of 32, he defeated Florida's Blaise Bicknell by a score of 6-3, 6-4 before going on to topple FSU's Loris Pourroy in a tight 3-6, 6-4, 11-9 decision. Rubio will face USF's Chase Ferguson not before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday for a chance to advance to the semifinals.
Pavel also made a run to the quarterfinals in the first day of Bedford Cup action. He took down FAU's Maxime Lapraille by a tally of 3-6, 7-5, 10-5 to advance to the round of 16. There, he beat USF's Niels Van Noord with a 6-1, 6-3 decision. Pavel will face another Bull in the quarterfinals as he'll battle with Ivan Yatsuk not before 9:30 a.m. Should both Rubio and Pavel advance, they would face each other in the semifinals.
Sokolovskiy fell in his round of 32 match in a neck in neck contest. FAU's Alvaro Horta Fernandez edged the Knight 6-4, 5-7, 10-4. Alencar lost in his first match of the tournament as well, as Pierre Luquet beat him 6-0, 6-0. Both Sokolovskiy and Alencar with compete in the "A" consolation bracket. Sokolovskiy will face USF's Antonio Muniz and Alencar will face FSU's Bryn Nahrung.
In the "B" draw, Mopuri won his first-round match over Bethune Cookman's Joshua Cadiz by a score of 7-5, 6-3. Mopuri would fall to Florida's Greysen Cacciatore 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16. Kiselyov was unable to chalk up a victory, falling to USF's Tobias Sonne 2-6, 7-6(4), 14-12 in the round of 16 after initially receiving a bye. Both Mopuri and Kiselyov will participate in the consolation "B" bracket, as Mopuri will face Stetson's Tim Gennes and Kiselyov will battle UNF's Federico Nani.
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