ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 11 UCF men's tennis team (0-1) fell to No. 8 Georgia (1-0) by a score of 6-1 on Monday from the USTA National Campus.
"Georgia played well. We were in a lot of sets and matches with them," director of tennis John Roddick said, "It wasn't that our level was lower, we just didn't win the points and games we needed to win to keep matches close and contested."
The Knights had opportunities, but the doubles point went to the Bulldogs. On court three, Alan Rubio and Kento Yamada rallied back to come within one, 3-4, but the Georgia duo of Erik Grevelius and Blake Croyder ultimately won 6-3. Bogdan Pavel and Lleyton Cronje forced a tough battle against No. 21 Philip Henning and Trent Bryde on court one but fell 6-4 as the Bulldogs claimed the doubles point. Court two went unfinished as Trey Hilderbrand and JC Roddick were tied, 5-5, with Georgia's Tristan McCormick and Hamish Stewart.
Singles started with a loss on court two as Lleyton Cronje fell to No. 23 Philip Henning 6-2, 6-1. No. 16 Trey Hilderbrand nearly forced a third set but fell to No. 62 Trent Bryde on court one and the Bulldogs went up 3-0.
Tristan McCormick topped Kento Yamada 7-5, 6-3 on court four to secure the match win while JC Roddick faced No. 110 Blake Croyder on court five, falling 2-6, 5-7 shortly after.
Bogdan Pavel earned a point for UCF after defeating Miguel Perez Pena on court six by a score of 4-6, 7-5, 10-4.
Alan Rubio forced a third set against No. 32 Hamish Stewart but fell in a tiebreaker with a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(7).
POST-MATCH COMMENTS
Bogdan Pavel
Obviously, it didn't go the way we wanted it to go. We were expecting more from us, but we had a bunch of guys fighting. It is just the beginning so we can't really be to upset about it but can't be happy with it. But we still have a long season ahead.
UP NEXT
The Knights look to take on the defending national champions, No. 1 Florida, in Gainesville on Saturday, January 22.
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.
