NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. (UCFKnights.com) – After three days of competition at the ITA National Fall Championships, No. 29 Gabriel Decamps has advanced to the consolation semifinals. Friday also represented the start of the Wake Forest Invitational for a pair of Knights.
DAY ONE – Wednesday
The Knights were unable to earn a victory on the tournament's opening day. In singles play, Decamps was matched up with Oregon's No. 115 Joshua Charlton. Decamps was able to win the first set, but ultimately would fall by a count of 2-6, 6-3, 6-4. No. 82 Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi was faced with a tough first round match as he was matched up with Ohio State's No. 11 John McNally, who is the tournament's No. 3 seed. Grassi Mazzuchi took a gritty first set 7-6(9) but would drop the final two sets 6-1, 6-1.
In doubles play, Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi fell to Princeton's No. 15 Payton Holden and Ryan Seggerman by a count of 6-3, 6-2. The Knight duo had defeated Princeton's pair earlier in the fall back in the ITA All-American Championships in early October.
DAY TWO – Thursday
With his back against the wall in the consolation bracket, Decamps prevailed over Oklahoma's Mason Beiler by a count of 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to keep his tournament alive.
Grassi Mazzuchi would be bested in a tight match against Iowa's Kareem Allaf by a score of 6-4, 6-3, ending Grassi Mazzuchi's tournament.
In the doubles consolation bracket, Decamps and Grassi Mazzuchi were toppled by Duke's Sean Sculley and Nick Stachowiak 6-1, 6-4. The UCF duo came into the tournament with a record of 7-1 but were unable to find a victory against some of college tennis' best.
DAY THREE – Friday
Decamps thrived on day three of singles play, picking up two victories in the consolation bracket to advance him to the semifinals. He triumphed over Minnesota's Stefan Milicevic in three sets by a score of 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 before going on to beat Dartmouth's Charlie Broom 7-6(6), 6-2. Decamps will square off against Ohio State's No. 27 Kyle Seelig at 3 p.m. EST.
Friday represented the first day of the Wake Forest Invitational for Manoel Alencar and Mikhail Sokolovskiy.
Alencar picked up a victory in singles play against Coastal Carolina's Gonzalo Achondo in straight sets, defeating the Chanticleer 6-3, 6-1. He advances to face Wake Forest's Siddhant Banthia on Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
Sokolovskiy was unable to top Kentucky's Cesar Bourgois in his first matchup of the tournament. The match was close the whole way, but Bourgois edged the Knight 6-4, 7-6(5).
The pair of Alencar and Sokolovskiy were defeated in their first doubles match of the tournament by Menezes/Wayand of Charlotte by a score of 6-4.
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