BOX SCORE   SEASON STATS
 
DALLAS (SMU) - SMU men's tennis fell, 4-0, to No. 26 UCF on Friday afternoon at the SMU Tennis Complex.
 
"We played a good match today," said head coach Grant Chen. "Scoreboard was indicative about today's battle, the shot clock just ran out on us on singles 2,3,5. We focused on key tactical aspects this week to prepare for today's match and executed at times. We need to seize a few more of our chances especially in the doubles. against the top teams, you take the opening you have as that's often the only one you get. Great to play in front our loyal parents, alums and fans."
 
The doubles point went down to wire between the two American Athletic Conference opponents. The Mustangs led early as Huntley Allen and Julian Steinhausen won 6-4 on court three. Allen and Steinhausen are now 5-0 as partners this season. The Knights matched the Mustangs with a 6-4 win on court two over Caleb Chakravarthi and Liam Krall. In the ranked-on-ranked matchup on one, No. 63 Juan Jose Bianchi and Tomas Vaise battled No. 21 Gabriel Decamps and Trey Hilderbrand. The Knights won a critical deciding point at 6-5, to take the match and win the doubles point.
 
UCF held the advantage into singles winning four first sets.
 
UCF took a court six victory over Jordi Redelijk, 6-1, 6-4 for their second point of the match. Chakravarthi was matched up with the No. 4 singles player in the country and lost a pair of 6-2 sets. UCF clinched its victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Jan-Simon Vrbsky on court four.
 
When the match ended, the Mustangs looked very strong on the three unfinished courts. Julian Steinhausen won 6-4 in his first set before dropping set 2, 4-6. He was leading 2-0 when the match ended.   Krall won his first set 6-4 and was all square at 5-5 at the conclusion.  Clarke Wilson dropped set one but evened it up with a 6-4 win in set two. Wilson led 1-0 in the third at the time of clinch.
 
The Mustangs fall to 13-10 on the season and 11-3 at home. UCF improves to 10-3 on the season and 2-0 in the conference.
 
Next up, the Mustangs face No. 4 Baylor in a Sunday match slated for 3 p.m. at the SMU Tennis Complex.