ORLANDO, Fla. – After recording a perfect 4-0 record across singles and doubles, including a victory over the nation's No. 4 player, Gabriel Decamps has earned the nod as the American Athletic Conference's Player of the Week.
Three of Decamps' four victories this week were against ranked opponents. He tallied two ranked wins in doubles with partner Trey Hilderbrand, pulling their record to 4-1 against ranked opposition. Decamps' win over the No. 4 player in the nation makes him 2-1 against ranked singles opponents.
UCF's week began with a battle against No. 10 Texas A&M at home. Decamps and Hilderbrand started the match on the right foot for the Knights, winning 6-3 at the top doubles spot against No. 48 Bjorn Thomson and Carlos Aguilar. The Black and Gold tandem were the first done and gave the team a chance to collect the doubles point.
Decamps' success continued in singles that day, winning a back-and-forth match on court one against No. 4 Valentin Vacherot. Decamps went down 4-1 in the first set but rallied all the way back to win 7-5. After being tied at 3-3 in the second stanza, Decamps powered to the finish as he won three of the next four games to win the set 6-4.
The win over the No. 4 singles player in the country is Decamps' first over a top five opponent. He beat the No. 7 singles player last season and has proven that he belongs among the elite singles players in college tennis. Decamps entered the season ranked at No. 16 in singles. The ITA has yet to announce when they'll be releasing new singles rankings.
The Knights visited North Florida on Sunday, winning the match 7-0. Decamps and Hilderbrand again topped a ranked duo, cruising by No. 56 Dominik Barton and Matt Carroll by a count of 6-2. Decamps handled the No. 1 singles spot with ease, collecting a 6-2, 6-1 victory. He was the first one done in singles and doubles against the Ospreys, taking care of business and setting the team up for success.
This is the second time this season that Decamps has earned the honor of being named The American's Player of the Week. He won the award three times in the shortened 2020 season and added another in 2019. Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi also earned the award three times in 2020, but its Decamps who leads active Knights in the weekly honor department with a total of six.
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The Knights will face another in-state foe as FGCU will visit the UCF Collegiate Tennis Center at the USTA National Campus on Feb. 26 at 1 p.m.
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