TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF men's tennis team concluded their run at the Bedford Cup on Sunday. The tournament was highlighted by UCF's Mikahil Sokolovskiy and Bogdan Pavel finishing as runners-up in the main doubles draw.
Saturday – Day Two
There was lots of action in both singles and doubles on the middle day of the Bedford Cup. After Day one, Pavel and #84 Alan Rubio remained in the main singles "A" flight. Pavel would win his quarterfinal round over USF's Ivan Yatsuk by a count of 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals. He would wind up falling in a tight three-set semifinal match to USF's Chase Ferguson by a score of 6-3, 1-6, 10-8.
Rubio would also fall victim to USF's Ferguson as Rubio was bested in the quarterfinal round 6-1, 6-3. The Knight had won last year's Bedford Cup which was hosted at UCF's home, the USTA National Campus.
Four Knights participated in consolation matches on Saturday. Manoel Alencar won his singles consolation match against FSU's Bryn Nahrung. He won the first set 6-4 before Nahrung retired, giving Alencar the victory. Saitejas Mopuri also won his consolation match, defeating Stetson's Tim Gaines 6-3, 7-5. The wins were in consolation matches with no bracket implications.
Sokolovskiy fell in his consolation singles match in a tight contest. USF's Antonio Muniz edged Sokolovskiy 6-7(4), 6-4, 10-8. Vasyl Kiselyov was topped by UNF's Federico Nani by a count of 6-4, 6-3.
In doubles play, Sokolovskiy and Pavel won their match against FGCU's Ramirez/Stefanacci 8-4 to advance to the semifinals of the "A" doubles draw.
UCF's two other doubles tandems did not find the same success on Saturday. Alencar and Rubio fell to FSU's Nahrung/Thongoana by a score of 8-3 in the "A" doubles draw quarterfinals to end their tournament. Kiselyov/Mopuri were edged by Stetson's Gennes/Mills by a count of 8-6 in the "B" doubles draw.
Sunday – Day Three
The duo of Sokolovskiy and Pavel were the only Knights in actin on the final day of the Bedford Cup. UCF's pair would need to win two matches on the day to win the main doubles draw.
The day started out well, as Sokolovskiy and Pavel triumphed over USF's Ferguson/Luqet 8-3 in the semifinals to advance to the championship match. In the finale, UCF's duo fell to FSU's Nahrung/Thongoana 8-4 as they would take the Bedford Cup doubles title. Sokolovskiy and Pavel finished the tournament as runners-up.
UP NEXT
The Knights will participate in the ITA Regionals in Gainesville, Fla. from Oct. 24-27.
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.