Tulsa Men Cruise to 4-1 Win Over UCF

Sunday, January 29

Columbus, Ohio

8:00 a.m.

Tulsa

UCF

Photo by: Campbell Rogerson

Tulsa Men Cruise to 4-1 Win Over UCF

1/29/2023 12:36:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score | Season Results

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The University of Tulsa men's tennis team earned a decisive 4-1 victory over the UCF Knights (1-3) Sunday during the consolation round of ITA Kickoff Weekend in Columbus, Ohio.

The win moves the Golden Hurricane to 2-2 on the season.

Doubles play was highlighted by senior duo Connor Di Marco and Kody Pearson, who outlasted the country's 28-ranked doubles team of Bogdan Pavel and Lleyton Cronje by a score of 7-5. The match win clinched the doubles point for the Hurricane after Callum Gale and Daniel Siddall had already taken down their UCF counterparts 6-4.

In singles play, UCF took the No. 3 spot to tie the dual at 1-1. Ezequiel Santalla won the No. 5 spot shortly after to give Tulsa back the lead.

Volodymyr Zakharov prevented UCF from scoring again when he outlasted Liam Branger in the second-set tiebreaker that resulted in a 9-7 finish in Zakharov's favor.

Kody Pearson and Daniel Siddall would go on to win their singles matchups in the No. 1 and No. 6 positions, respectively, clinching the dual win for the Hurricane.

Tulsa will return home on Sunday, Feb. 5, to host Texas Tech (2-2) and Oral Roberts (1-4).

Singles
1. Kody Pearson (TU) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
2. Stefan Hampe (TU) vs. Bogdan Pavel (UCF) 6-2, 4-6, 6-6, unfinished
3. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Callum Gale (TU) 6-3, 6-2
4. Volodymyr Zakharov (TU) vs. Liam Branger (UCF) 3-6, 7-6 (9-7), 2-4, unfinished
5. Ezequiel Santalla (TU) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 7-6 (7-2), 6-2
6. Daniel Siddall (TU) def. Quinn Snyder (UCF) 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4

Doubles
1. Connor Di Marco/Kody Pearson (TU) def. #28 Bogdan Pavel/Lleyton Cronje (UCF) 7-5
2. Callum Gale/Daniel Siddall (TU) def. Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) 6-4
3. Stefan Hampe/Ezequiel Santalla (TU) vs. Mehdi Benchakroun/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-6, unfinished

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,5,1,6)