Men's Tennis | 3/28/2003 11:50:00 PM

Box Score MIAMI SHORES, Fla. -- After getting off to one of their best starts in school history, the Barry University men's tennis team was edged by the Central Florida Knights 4-3 bringing their 14-match win streak to an unsettling end.

Scheduled to start at 2 pm, the Buccaneers faced a long delay because of rain. Once play resumed at 5:30, a decision was made to begin with the singles matches, which the Bucs won three of the six.

In the most intense match of the season at the Buccaneer Tennis Center, the Knights' Ener Gursoy and Simon Jaeger won at the #5 and #6 singles with relative ease. However, Barry's Gerold Wiring and Sebastian Losavio kept the Bucs hopes alive winning at #3 and #4 to tie the match at two apiece.

At the #1 singles, Central Florida's Catalin Bradu topped #10 Samir M'Bioka 7-6, 6-3 to give the Knights a 3-2 advantage leaving the fate of the match in the hands of freshman Thomas Hipp. Gabriel Stranberg defeated Hipp at #2 in the first set 6-2, but the feisty Hipp battled back to win the second set 7-6 in a back-and-forth tiebreaker forcing a third set. Hipp took a 4-0 lead, but Stranberg battled back to tie it 4-4. Hipp then showed his true competitive character earning the 6-4 to tie the match at three apiece.

In the doubles showdown, Augusto Sanabria and Jaeger won the #2 doubles 8-1 over Barry's Dirk Benninghaus/Alex Praderas team, but Wiring and Losavio battled out a 9-7 win at #3 over Central Florida's Stranberg and Rhett Rosen.

Tied at eight at the #1 doubles, M'Bioka and Hipp fell 7-3 in the tiebreaker as Central Florida's Bradu and Antonio Sierra edged the Bucs' top team 9-8 for the win.

The Buccaneer fell to 14-1 overall, while the Knights improved to 16-2. The Buccaneers will return to action at the West Florida Invitational Apr. 3-5.

Singles Results

Catalin Bradu (UCF) def. Samir M'Bioka (BU) 7-6, 6-3
Thomas Hipp (BU) def. Gabrial Stranberg (UCF) 2-6, 7-6, 6-4
Gerold Wiring (BU) def. Augusto Sanabria (UCF) 6-2, 6-4
Sebastian Losavio (BU) def. Antonio Sierra (UCF) 7-5, 6-1
Ener Gursoy (UCF) def. Fillip Norrman (BU) 6-3, 6-2
Simon Jaeger (UCF) def. Dirk Benninghaus (BU) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles Results

Bradu/Sierra (UCF) def. M'Bioka/Hipp (BU) 9-8
Sanabria/Jaeger (UCF) def. Benninghaus/Praderas (BU) 8-1
Wiring/Losavio (BU) def. Stranberg/Rhett Rosen (UCF) 9-7