TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The UCF men's tennis team concluded its time at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships this weekend. Three Knights earned singles victories in the main singles draw.
Cooper White earned a victory in the first round of the main singles draw, beating Mercer's Lucas Dini 7-6 (7-2), 6-3. White was topped in a three-set battle in the next round, falling to the No. 13 seed of the tournament, Florida State's Youcef Rihane, by a score of 1-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-0.
Mehdi Benchakroun continued his successful fall with a victory over Miami's Juan Martin Jalif in round one, picking up a 7-6 (7-5), 1-6, 6-3 victory. Benchakroun ran into the tournament No. 3 seeded and No. 73 nationally ranked Bryde of Georgia and lost in a tough three-set battle by a count of 4-6, 6-1, 6-3.
Bogdan Pavel was victorious in the first round with a straight set victory against Georgia Southern's Dimitris Paliouras, moving onto the second round with a 6-4, 6-4 result. Pavel's run ended there, falling to the tournament's 15th seeded Jamie Connel by a score of 6-3, 7-6 (7-2).
A trio of Knights began their run at the tournament in the qualifying rounds. Quinn Snyder topped FGCU's Juan Lopez 6-4, 6-3 before being edged in his final qualifying match by Paliouras 6-3, 6-4. Luca Hotze was beaten in two straight three-set battles by North Florida's Patrick Kotan 6-2, 4-6, 10-3 and FAU's Finn Stodder 6-3, 6-7, 11-9. Emilio Sanchez also was edged twice in qualifying, falling to Georgia State's Diego Padhila 7-5, 7-5 and Kennesaw State's Havey Conway 6-3, 6-3.
In doubles play, Sanchez and White earned a first-round victory over North Florida's Kotan and Breno Marques, advancing with an 8-7 (7-1) victory. The two were topped by the tournament's top seeded and 18th nationally ranked Trent Bryde and Philip Henning of Georgia in the following round by a score of 8-4.
Another tight doubles match involving a UCF pair unfolded in the first round but went the way of the opposition as Snyder and Hotze were edged by Georgia Southern's Alexandros Roumpis and Jacob Mitchell 8-7 (8-6).
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