| #44 UCF (5) vs #41 South Florida (4) Friday, April 22 | 10 AM ET LIVE STATS & STREAM |
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 44 UCF men's tennis team is set to compete as the No. 5 seed in the 2022 American Athletic Conference Tournament, beginning with a rematch against No. 41 South Florida in the quarterfinals round on Friday, April 22, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
UCF is the defending AAC Champion and looks to add another.
In the past two seasons, the AAC Championship came down to UCF and South Florida. Last season, the Knights were able to win their first AAC title with a big sweep over the Bulls, but South Florida got the 4-3 win over UCF in the championship match in 2019.
The Knights come into the tournament after playing a competitive schedule where they saw 16 ranked teams, including four in the top-10 all on the road. In addition, five of their losses were by a close 3-4 decision.
Most recently, the Knights hosted the War On I-4 against the Bulls. The match came down to the final court, but South Florida got the 4-3 win. UCF is set for the rematch to start the AAC tournament.
UCF moved up three spots in the ITA rankings, reaching No. 44 while Trey Hilderbrand jumped up seven spots in singles, earning No. 83.
In doubles, Trey Hilderbrand and Bogdan Pavel grabbed a top-30 ranking of No. 28 and the duo of Lleyton Cronje and Bogdan Pavel are ranked No. 42.
THE FIELD
THE BULLS
No. 4 seed, South Florida is ranked No. 41 in the ITA and is 13-9 on the season with seven wins over ranked team. The Bulls are also on a five-match win streak heading into the tournament.
One doubles team is ranked with No. 32 Rithvik Bollipalli and Bruno Oliveira.
Last weekend, UCF and South Florida battled to the end in an exciting match.
The Bulls were able to get the doubles point over the Knights and led the match 3-1 at one point. But UCF fought back, tying the match at three all after a third-set tiebreak win from Bogdan Pavel. It then came down to a third set on court six where the Bulls got the 4-3 win.
UCF looks for a strong rematch to move on to the semifinals.
CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
For more information, tournament brackets, match results and more, click here.
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