Miami Muscles to 2nd 2017 ‘Tennis on Campus’ Title at UCF Knitro Cup

In the last two months the University of Miami has showed it will be a force on the 2017-18 USTA Florida “Tennis on Campus” circuit, over the weekend winning its second title of the year, defeating host University of Central Florida 25-17 in the final of the UCF Knightro Cup in Orlando.

The UM win follows their Oct. 7 victory at the USF Bull Run in Tampa where they defeated host USF in the final. UM is now tied with the University of Florida with two titles each on the season.

The UM-“A” team in the Gold Bracket semifinals defeated the UF-“A” squad, and the UCF-“A” team in their semifinal topped the UCF-“B” team in an inter-squad battle.

“Reaching our third consecutive final at the Knightro Cup was a good achievement, and finally prevailing in the final was even better,” said UM captain Steven Masciale. “Our team played a consistent brand of tennis all weekend which is why we were able to go 6-0 and pick up wins against the University of Florida’s and University of Central Florida’s top teams with a comfortable margin of eight games.”

Gold Bracket final results:

Women’s Doubles: Sarah Vargas/Erika Namery (UM) d. Lissa Galguera/Ashley Cabral 6-2
Men’s Doubles: Jonathan Borsky/Jason Hsieh (UCF) d. Steven Masciale/Rachan Ramesh 6-3
Women’s Singles: Vargas (UM) d. Cabral 6-0
Men’s Singles: Aiden O’Brien (UCF) d. Nino Coutelle 6-4
Mixed Doubles: Coulette/Erika Namery (UM) d. Stefan Levine/Galguera 6-3

In the Silver Bracket final the University of North Florida-“A” team defeated the UF-“C” team, and the Bronze Bracket was won by the UCF-“D” squad, which in the final defeated UCF-“X.”

Other participating schools were the University of Tampa, Florida State University and Florida Gulf Coast University.

The next event on the 2017 Tennis on Campus schedule will be the UM Ibis Open, where the University of Miami will attempt to protect its home turf on Nov. 11 in Coral Gables.

2017 Schedule and Results:

Sept. 23 — UF Gatorbowl, Gainesville (FINAL: UF-“A” d. UF-“B”)
Oct. 7 — USF Bull Run, Tampa (FINAL: UM-“A” d. USF-“A”)
Oct. 28 — FSU Battle in the Capital, Tallahassee (FINAL: UF-“A” d. UF-“B”)
Nov. 4 — UCF Knightro Cup, Orlando (FINAL: UM-“A” d. UCF-“A”)
Nov. 11 — UM Ibis Open, Coral Gables
Jan. 20 — FGCU Dirty Bird Classic, Ft. Myers
Feb. 17 — Delray Beach Open ‘Tennis On Campus’ Challenge, Delray Beach
Feb. 24 — USTA Florida Tennis on Campus Section Championships

About USTA Tennis On Campus
The USTA’s Tennis On Campus program is designed to provide college students with opportunities for team camaraderie, social networking, and rivaled competition through tennis without the rigors of a NCAA varsity program. Tennis on Campus offers fun co-ed team-based play (using the World TeamTennis scoring format), regional and national championship competition, and helps students maintain active and healthy lifestyles through their college years. Currently the program is offered on more than 500 college campuses. The USTA Tennis on Campus team format features men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles, with a minimum of two men and two women per team.

For more information on the USTA Florida Tennis on Campus series or to start a team at your school go to www.ustaflorida.com/TOC, or contact Desirae McLaughlin at toc@ustaflorida.com.