ORLANDO, FL – After winning its fifth consecutive MAAC Championship to earn an automatic bid, the Monmouth University men's tennis team fell to No. 9 University of Central Florida in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, 4-0.
 
UCF won the doubles point with victories at No. 3 and No. 1. The Knights sealed the result with singles wins at No. 5, No. 1, and No. 2.
 
Monmouth's Lucca Silva won the first set at No. 4 singles, 6-4, before the second set went unfinished. Sophomore Gabriel Busato was in the midst of a tiebreaker first set as the match was called.
 
Monmouth ends the season with a 14-3 record, including 12 straight wins heading into the NCAA matchup.
 
NUMBERS CRUNCH
 
#10 UCF 4, Monmouth 0
5/8/2021 at Orlando, Fla.
 
Singles competition
1. #9 Gabriel Decamps (UCF) def. Cooke Wharton, Will (MU-M) 6-0, 6-1
2. Alan Rubio (UCF) def. Benaim, Max (MU-M) 6-1, 6-1
3. #93 Juan Pablo Mazzuchi (UCF) vs. Castro, Victor (MU-M) 6-3, 4-1, unfinished
4. Kento Yamada (UCF) vs. Silva, Lucca (MU-M) 4-6, unfinished
5. Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) def. Martinez, Sergio (MU-M) 6-1, 6-2
6. Mikhail Sokolovskiy (UCF) vs. Busato, Gabriel (MU-M) 6-6 (5-2), unfinished
 
Doubles competition
1. #5 Bogdan Pavel/Trey Hilderbrand (UCF) def. Benaim, Max/Martinez, Sergio (MU-M) 6-3
2. Juan Pablo Mazzuchi/Gabriel Decamps (UCF) vs. Castro, Victor/Silva, Lucca (MU-M) 5-2, unfinished
3. Alan Rubio/Kento Yamada (UCF) def. Cooke Wharton, Will/Gortzounian, Charles (MU-M) 6-1
 
Match Notes
Monmouth 14-3
UCF 22-3; National ranking #10
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (5,1,2)
Division I NCAA Tournament First Round
UCF - #9 National Seed
T-1:34 A-79