ORLANDO, Fla. – Top 10 distinction was abundant for the UCF men's tennis team in Wednesday's release of the Oracle/ITA singles, doubles and team rankings. Gabriel Decamps moved up to No. 3 in the singles rankings while the Knights earned back-to-back top 10 rankings as a squad for the first time in program history.
Decamps is joined in the singles rankings by Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, who moved up to No. 102 this week. Trey Hilderbrand is a part of both Knight tandems in the doubles rankings. He and Bogdan Pavel jumped to No. 13 this week while Hilderbrand and Decamps make up the nation's No. 31 pair.
Decamps is 16-3 this season with an 8-2 record against ranked opposition. Wednesday marked the third straight top five ranking for him after starting the season at No. 16. At one point, he was victorious in thirteen consecutive matches and continues to prove that he is every bit deserving of a top 5 spot in the rankings. Grassi Mazzuchi holds a 12-5 record on the season and moved up 22 spots in the latest poll.
The decision by Director of Tennis John Roddick to go back to a familiar pairing of Hilderbrand and Pavel has paid off for the doubles tandem. Holding a 6-1 record, the duo is 4-1 against ranked opposition in 2021. Hilderbrand and Pavel, who had previously climbed as high as No. 3 in the country together back in 2019, moved up 16 spots from their previous ranking of 29th in the nation.
Hilderbrand and Decamps have compiled an 8-4 record so far this season, earning five wins over ranked tandems in eight tries.
The ITA released two sets of team rankings this week, a computer version and a coaches poll edition. The Knights are No. 10 in the coaches poll and No. 11 in the computer rankings.
Last week, the Knights earned a program-best No. 9 spot, beating the team's previous high of No. 13 earned on March 30. Prior to this season, the Black and Gold had climbed as high as No. 22.
The Knights are once against compiling a terrific season, sitting with a 17-3 record and riding a nine-match winning streak. UCF has set the mark for most wins in a campaign during the Roddick era at UCF. The Black and Gold haven't had a season with more than 16 wins since 2003 when they went 20-4 and were crowned champions of the ASUN, earning the first conference title in program history.
UCF picked up another victory over a ranked opponent this past week, defeating No. 29 Wichita State, 5-2, to improve to 5-0 against American Athletic Conference competition. The Knights also picked up a 4-0 sweep of North Florida on April 11.
The Tennis Channel/USTA College Tennis Top 25 has UCF at No. 12 this week, moving the Knights up one spot from last week.
UP NEXT
The Knights return to action on Sunday, hosting No. 27 Memphis in a noon contest at the USTA National Campus.
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