Oct. 28, 2004
ORLANDO - The UCF women's tennis team competes in its final tournament of the fall season when the Golden Knights travel to the Lady Seminoles Classic in Tallahassee from Oct. 29-31.
The Knights will be meeting some tough competition at the tournament. Among the squads scheduled to appear are Georgia Tech, Virginia, Baylor, USF and host Florida State as well as Atlantic Sun foes Stetson and Jacksonville.
UCF, which finished second in the 2004 Atlantic Sun Championship, wants to spend as much time on the courts as possible this weekend. "The key to the tournament this weekend is matches, matches, matches," said the Knights' head coach Patricia Allison. "Winning is not as important as competing hard. I want to make certain that we get as many matches as we can so we can get more experience."
Allison has been impressed by the improvement of her team thus far, saying "There has been enormous progress from all the players in skill, competition and team comraderie."
The Golden Knights played in mock dual tournaments at both USF and Stetson earlier in the season, competing against the hosts and Florida International. Sophomore Megan Rosario-Hunter was the most successful in the singles as she won two matches and went to a tiebreaker in her match against Stetson's Catherine Canaday. Senior Kristina Lohomos and junior Pamela Fernandez also have two victories this fall.
Four of the squad's five freshman have made their debuts. Jennifer Carati has played at both the No.1, No.2 and No. 3 singles positions without a win but has shown her potential. Kyla McNichol went to a tiebreaker versus FIU's Bruna Discordia. Becky Gordon has gone 1-1, while Anna Yakimchenkova earned a victory over Stetson's Danielle Mollman in her collegiate debut. Only Viviana Yrureta has yet to play a match.
"All of the freshmen are very talented. Kyla's talented. Anna's talented. Jennifer and Viviana are talented," said Allison. "Now it's just the question of how willing they are to be coachable. If they are willing to make changes, the sky is the limit for their potential."
The fall season has not only allowed the players a chance to gain experience but it has also given Coach Allison the opportunity to tweak the lineup. The Golden Knights want to be ready for their regular season opener against Florida on Jan. 27.