ORLANDO, Fla. – Top-seeded UCF lived up to its seeding as the Knights advanced to the championship final of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championship Saturday.
 
While the Knights came into the tournament as the favorite, and have looked every bit the part - thanks in part to a solid 4-0 win against Wichita State Saturday - they find a familiar opponent on the other side of Sunday’s final.
 
USF, as it has done since the formation of the American Athletic Conference, will play for the trophy for the sixth consecutive year after the Bulls scored a 4-1 win against Temple. In doing so, the Bulls improved to 16-1 all-time in the tournament.
 
Not only does Sunday’s final set up a War on I-4 rematch between The American’s two Florida rivals, it also mirrors the pairings of Sunday’s women’s final, which begins at 10 a.m. ET. The men’s championship match will follow at 1 p.m. ET. Both matches will take place at the USTA National Campus.
 
Live coverage of both championship matches will be on the American Digital Network. Live court-by-court scoring of each match can be found on the conference’s Championship Central site.
 
 
USF 4, Temple 1
Records: USF (16-7), Temple (15-7)
 

USF’s men’s tennis team won four straight singles matches to offset Temple’s strong showing in doubles as the Bulls advanced to the championship match of the American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championship for the sixth consecutive season with a 4-1 win against the Owls Saturday afternoon.
 
USF, seeded No. 3 in this year’s tournament, improved to 16-1 all-time in the American Championship. The Bulls will look for their fifth American title when they face top-seeded UCF Sunday at 1 p.m
 
The Bulls fell behind early against No. 7-seeded Temple, which won at No. 2 and No. 3 doubles to claim the first point. But USF players won the first set in four of the six singles matches, and got on the board when Sergio Gomez Montesa took a 7-5, 6-3 win at No. 5.
 
USF took the lead for good on Pierre Luquet’s 6-3, 6-3 win at No. 3 before 18th-ranked Alberto Barroso-Campos won a 7-6 (6), 6-4 decision at No. 1 to make it 3-1.
 
Jakub Wojcik won it for the Bulls when he rallied after dropping the first set to take a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 win at the No. 4 spot.
 
 
UCF 4, Wichita State 0
Records: UCF (15-9), Wichita State (16-10)
 

UCF won all three completed singles matches in straight sets as the top-seeded Knights advanced to the American Athletic Conference Men’s Tennis Championship final with a 4-0 semifinal victory against Wichita State Saturday afternoon.
 
The Knights earned wins at the No. 3, No. 5 and No. 6 singles spots after taking the doubles point to earn a spot in Sunday’s final. UCF will play for its first conference title since 2005, when the Knights competed in the Atlantic Sun Conference.
 
UCF’s depth was the difference Saturday as Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi took a 6-3, 6-1 win at No. 5 singles, while Mikhail Sokolovskiy won 6-1, 6-3 at No. 6, staking the Knights to an early 3-0 lead.
 
UCF won the first set on three of the four remaining courts, including on No. 3 singles, where Bogdan Pavel completed the sweep with a 6-3, 6-3 decision.
 
 
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE MEN’S TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP
presented by AIR FORCE RESERVE
April 18-21 | Orlando, Florida
 

First Round | Thursday, April 18
Match 1: No. 7 Temple 4, No. 10 UConn 0
Match 2: No. 9 SMU 4, No. 8 ECU 0
Quarterfinals | Friday, April 19
Match 3: No. 7 Temple 4, No. 2 Tulane 3
Match 4: No. 3 USF 4, No. 6 Memphis 0
Match 5: No. 5 Wichita State 4, No. 4 Tulsa 2
Match 6: No. 1 UCF 4, No. 9 SMU 0
Semifinals | Saturday, April 20
Match 7: No. 7 Temple (15-6) vs. No. 3 USF (15-7)
Match 8: No. 1 UCF 4, No. 5 Wichita State 0
Final | Sunday, April 21 | American Digital Network
Match 9: No. 3 USF (16-7) vs. No. 1 UCF (15-9)	1 p.m.

 
 
all times Eastern