Jorge Blasco, Erik Brunskog, Mario Samson and Joe Delinks all rolled to quick singles wins for the Knights (8-10). Brunskog had little trouble with Skip Span, winning 6-1, 6-2 at No. 2. Facing Jordan Badenko at No. 6, Delinks won 6-2, 6-4. Blasco handled Alexander Pelaez (6-4, 6-2) at the top spot.

Against Willi Peter at No. 5, Samson was a 6-1, 7-6 winner. Juan Bolona also recorded a singles win as he held on for a 6-2, 6-7, 10-7 triumph over Jusso Ojanen at No. 4.

Prior to the match, Delinks and fellow senior Eugene Dolgovykh were honored for their four-year contributions to the program. Illinois State fell to 5-10 on the year with the loss.

“It was good for us to get a win, especially since it was Senior Day, but we also need to start playing a complete match,” UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. “Our doubles played flat today. We did do a good job in our first sets in singles to gain the momentum of the match, but did not take control early in the second sets. I am glad we were able to close them out, but we need to take control early in the second sets. We need to play with more fire in the coming weeks to be prepared for the conference tournament approaching in our own backyard.”

The Knights will play at home again this season as the program is slated to host the Conference USA Championship starting April 19.

UCF has three regular-season contests remaining, all away from home. The stretch starts Friday in Oklahoma at Oral Roberts.

UCF 5, Illinois State 2

Doubles:

1. Pelaez/Manner (ISU) def. Thams/Delinks (UCF) 8-5

2. Brunskog/Bolona (UCF) def. Span/Ojanen (ISU) 8-6

3. Peter/Badenko (ISU) def. Gladstone/Dolgovykh (UCF) 8-1

Singles:

1. Blasco (UCF) def. Pelaez (ISU) 6-4; 6-2

2. Brunskog (UCF) def. Span (ISU) 6-1; 6-2

3. Manner (ISU) def. Thams (UCF) 0-6; 6-1; 6-4

4. Bolona (UCF) def. Ojanen (ISU) 6-3; 6-7; 10-7

5. Samson (UCF) def. Peter (ISU) 6-1; 7-6

6. Delinks (UCF) def. Badenko (ISU) 6-2; 6-4

The contest served as the final home match for UCF’s three seniors – Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden), Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain) and Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.)

UCF dominated at the top of the lineup in singles as Rocafort (6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 over Jan Hoekzema) and Sakey (6-4, 6-4 at No. 2 over Alexis Heugas) registered quick victories. Beigart was also victorious in his final match in Orlando, topping Istvan Bolgar, 7-6 (4), 6-1, at No. 5.

Junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.), sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) and freshman Mario Samson (Miami, Fla.) also picked up singles wins for the hosts.

“I thought we did a great job remaining focused today and dealing with three rain delays and a talented squad from Embry-Riddle,” UCF head coach Bobby Cashman said. “We have really learned a great deal from all of our matches this year and that has shown in our last three matches. We are looking forward to the start of the C-USA tournament next week.”

In doubles, Rocfort and Schwartz were 8-6 winners at the top spot over Hoekzema and Heugas. Facing Bolgar and Peter Francis at No. 2, Beigart and sophomore Joe Delinks (Falmouth, Mass.) rolled to an 8-1 victory. Sakey and Romano were too much for Charlie Rice and Zander Woodford-Smith, as the Knights won 8-5 at No. 3.

With the win, UCF improved to 6-2 at home in 2010.

The Knights will now have more than a week to prepare for the C-USA Championship, which will begin April 22 in Houston. UCF’s first match at the event should come on April 23.

The contest concluded a five-match homestand for the Knights.

“DePaul is a dangerous team, but we did a tremendous job at every single position today,” Cashman said. “We have been working to improve as a team in each match that we play and we really showed that this afternoon. We have built some good momentum in the last few matches and we are going to work to keep that going out west next week.”

At the No. 1 singles spot, senior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) handled Bartosz Jozwiak, 7-5, 6-4. Senior Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain), who usually plays at the top spot for the Knights, moved to No. 2 and topped Matija Palinic, 6-2, 7-5. Against Douglas Perrin at No. 6, senior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) won 6-2, 6-1.

Junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) had no trouble with Alasdair Graetz at No. 3. Schwartz was a 6-3, 6-1 winner. Sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) and freshman Nino Hasandedic (Munich, Germany) also recorded wins for the hosts.

At No. 1 doubles, Rocafort and Schwartz improved to 11-3 this spring with an 8-4 triumph over Vania Grgec and Mathias Hambach.

UCF will now head to Oklahoma next week for three matches. The stretch begins Thursday at No. 44 Oklahoma State.

Last week 海角直播’s men’s tennis head coach Bobby Cashman announced that he was one of the nation’s premier junior players and said Zachary had signed a grant-in-aid with the Knights. He will join the program next fall.

Zachary said he has been playing tennis for the past 12 years and practices upwards of two hours a day.

“Tennis attracted me because it is all individual,” Zachary said. “If you play badly, you have no one to blame but yourself.”

Zachary, who has made a name for himself in Bossier City, is hoping to make a name for himself in Orlando, Fla. According to tennisrecruiting.net, Zachary is a five-star recruit.

“Matt is a good singles and doubles player,” Cashman said. “He has posted great singles results on the national level. He has also won some great doubles tournaments in the South.”

In October, Zachary took the title at the Bullfrog Southern Designated event in Raleigh, N.C. He posted five wins at the tournament, including a victory in the title match over the nation’s 26th-ranked junior.

As a junior at Airline High School, Zachary won the Louisiana Class 5A state singles title. In 2008, Zachary was the state runner-up.

Source: Shreveport Times, December 23, 2009, titled “” by聽Jane Bokun.