Date Posted: 4/12/2007

The end came much sooner than the four seniors on the University of North Florida men's tennis team thought it might. The dynamic group rose to the occasion nonethless and led the Ospreys to a 5-2 win over UCF in an unexpected non-conference match at the UNF Tennis Complex on Wednesday afternoon.

In an apparent scheduling conflict, UCF arrived during UNF's team practice on Wednesday to play a match that was scheduled for Thursday afternoon. The Ospreys simply stopped practice and started playing -- giving UNF's Leonardo Gomes, Elad Gabay, Matias Sigal and Glen Marshall an opportunity to display their grit one last time as they played in their career finale at home. The Ospreys (12-7) overcame a brief deficit to post their eighth win in nine matches and knock off UCF (12-11), which at one point this season was ranked 62nd nationally.

UCF took the doubles point to grab the early lead, and the teams were tied 2-2 after three singles matches. From there, UNF's Javier Ferrin and Gomes took care of business at the No. 3 and 6 spots, respectively, to secure the win for UNF. The victory was UNF's seventh at home in eight matches this season and the program's first win against UCF.

"We are glad to get through it with a win," UNF head coach Igal Buberman said. "UCF is a tough team that fights and competes. This is the first time we've beaten them, and due to the circumstances I really take my hat off to our guys. They did not mind any of the variables and did not look for excuses. They just competed and got the job done. It was a fitting end to their careers at home."

In singles, Sigal rallied from a one-set deficit to knock off UCF's Tarek Ben Soltane at No. 1 (3-6, 6-0, 6-1). Ben Smith followed with a win at No. 4 for UNF (6-2, 6-3), followed by Gomes (6-2, 6-2) at No. 6. Eduardo Pereira then capped off the match with a victory at No. 2 -- 7-6 (1), 3-6, 11-9 over UCF's Johan Beigart.

In doubles, the Golden Knights tooks wins at the top two positions. Gabay and Pereira earned a win for the Ospreys at No. 3 doubles (8-2), however, to ensure that three of the team's four seniors walked away with at least one victory in their final home match. Marshall teamed with Sigal at No. 2 doubles but lost 9-7.

courtesy of UNFospreys.com

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