No. 36 Miami Conquers UCF

Feb. 24, 2012

CORAL GABLES, Fla.—The No. 36 Miami Hurricanes conquered the UCF Knights 5-2 on Friday afternoon at the Schiff Tennis Center.

The team won five-of-six in singles play after coming up short (1-2) in doubles.

“We lost doubles, which put us in a difficult position because they have a strong lineup and we knew we would have to dig deep to come out with the win,” said Coach Mario Rincon. “Our guys responded to the challenge. They were ready, they were feisty, they were competitive and they supported each other throughout the match.”

Although the Canes lost the doubles point, the duo of Gabriel Flores and Diego Soto in the second position won their match 9-8 (7-5).

In singles, Gabriel Flores won the first set 6-4 against Jorge Blasco and won the second set 7-5 after playing a tiebreaker.

Omar Aly dominated Erik Brunskog in the No. 2 position 6-4, 6-1, and No. 3 Wilfredo Gonzalez took his opponent, Mario Samson, into the third set, winning 0-6, 6-4, 6-4.

Henrique Tsukamoto was the sole Cane to surrender a singles point, losing to Mitch Thams 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

“We were behind in the singles matches on a lot of courts, but the guys kept hanging in there. Henrique, even though he lost his match, was able to get into the third set which really gave a big lift to a lot of the other players,” said Coach Mark Dickson.

Diego Soto made quick work of his opponent Joe Delinks, finishing first and winning 6-4, 6-0. Victor Mauz finished his match second and defeated Juan Bolona 6-3, 6-3.

“It was a hard-fought match,” concluded Rincon. “UCF is a solid team and I was very glad we came out with a win in the end.”

Miami will next host North Florida on Sun., Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center, then No. 32 Florida State on Sun., March 4 at 3:30 p.m.

Complete Results

Singles

1. Gabriel Flores (UM) def. Jorge Blasco (UCF) 6-4, 7-5
2. Omar Aly (UM) def. Erik Brunskog (UCF) 6-4, 6-1
3. Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) def. Mario Samson (UCF) 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
4. Mitch Thams (UCF) def. Henrique Tsukamoto (UM) 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
5. Diego Soto (UM) def. Joe Delinks (UCF) 6-4, 6-0
6. Victor Mauz (UM) def. Juan Bolona (UCF) 6-3, 6-3

Doubles

1. Erik Brunskog/Mitch Thams (UCF) def. Omar Aly/Wilfredo Gonzalez (UM) 9-8 (7-5)
2. Gabriel Flores/Diego Soto (UM) def. Mario Samson/Joe Delinks (UCF) 8-6
3. Juan Bolona/Matthew Gladstone (UCF) def. Marco Stancati/Victor Mauz (UM) 8-1

Match Notes

UCF 2-4
Miami 4-2; National ranking #36
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (5,6,2,1,3,4)