MIAMI – The UCF men's tennis team was defeated 4-0 by Miami on Friday night as the Knights couldn't find the edge early on, dropping the doubles point before the Hurricanes took three courts in singles. Bogdan Pavel, Lleyton Cronje, and Mehdi Benchakroun all took their first sets, though each went unfinished on their respective courts.
Pavel slotted into court one for the first time this season and the Romanian continued his strong play, taking set one, 6-4. He was in the midst of a back-and-forth second with No. 51 Dan Martin before Miami clinched the match. Benchakroun and Cronje also took care of business in the first, as Cronje won a contested set, 7-5, with Miami's Martin Katz, ranked 21st in the country. Mehdi had his best opening set of the season, 6-2, against Franco Aubone.
The ranked duo of Cronje and Pavel were victorious for the second match in a row on court one, defeating the Hurricanes tandem of Martin Vergara and Juan Martin Jalif. Ranked 48th in the country, the seniors have hit their stride following four of their first five ties going unfinished to start the season. The Knights couldn't pull through on two and three as Miami took the match's first point.
Francisco "Toto" Llanes made his collegiate debut in both doubles and singles. Though the Uruguayan lost 1-6, 0-6 on court six, his feature in the Knights lineup was a promising sign for the remainder of the season. Yassine Dlimi and Liam Branger dropped courts two and five.
The Knights get a much-needed home stretch with matches against North Florida and Florida State next weekend as coach Roddick and his young squad will look to bounce back following the tough five-game road trip.
Singles competition
1. #21 Dan Martin (UM) vs. Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 4-6, 3-2, unfinished
2. Antonio Prat (UM) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-2, 6-2
3. #51 Martin Katz (UM) vs. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) 5-7, 4-1, unfinished
4. Franco Aubone (UM) vs. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 2-6, 2-4, unfinished
5. Nacho Serra Sanchez (UM) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 6-3, 6-1
6. Leo Bierbaum (UM) def. Francsico Llanes (UCF) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #48 Lleyton Cronje/Bogdan Pavel (UCF) def. Juan Martin Jalif/Martin Vergara (UM) 6-3
2. Franco Aubone/Dan Martin (UM) def. Liam Branger/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-2
3. Martin Katz/Antonio Prat (UM) def. Mehdi Benchakroun/Francsico Llanes (UCF) 6-2
