ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF men's tennis team won the doubles point but could not hold on, falling to No. 69 Illinois by a score of 3-4 on Friday, March 18, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The Knights looked strong in doubles and clinched the doubles point on the final court.
Bogdan Pavel and Trey Hilderbrand found their rhythm early to defeat No. 35 Hunter Heck and Lucas Horve by a quick 6-1 decision.
Illinois tied it up as Alan Rubio and JC Roddick fell to Alex Brown and Gabrielius Guzauskas, 3-6, on court three.
It came down to court two yet again, but No. 60 Lleyton Cronje and Cooper White were able to get the edge over Siphosothando Montsi and Olivier Stuart by a score of 7-5 to win the doubles point.
In singles action, Alan Rubio continued to dominate and earned his fourth-straight win on court four after defeating Alex Brown, 6-3, 6-3.
The Fighting Illini then turned things around with scoring the next three courts. On court three, No. 61 Trey Hilderbrand fell to No. 117 Hunter Heck, 4-6, 4-6, while Cooper White then dropped his match to Nic Meister on court six, 4-6, 2-6, to tie the match at two all.
On court one, Lleyton Cronje was able to force a third set, but could not hold on as he fell to Siphosothando Montsi, 3-6, 6-1, 2-6, giving Illinois the 3-2 lead.
But after dropping his first set, JC Roddick came back to win the next two to defeat Gabrielius Guzauskas on court five, tying the match up again at three all.
Down to the final court for the second time this week, Bogdan Pavel was facing No. 62 Olivier Stuart on court two. Pavel also forced a third set, but fell short, falling 4-6, 6-4, 1-6 and the Fighting Illini won the match by a score of 4-3.
UP NEXT
The Knights will round out the weekend, facing FAU on Sunday, March 2, at home from the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Florida.
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