Jan. 27, 2005
ORLANDO - The No. 68 ranked UCF men's tennis team is focused on rebounding from the loss to No. 3 Florida when it heads to Alabama this weekend for matches against No. 37 Alabama and UAB.
"Although the team only had one week of practice prior to the match against Florida, we played well in spots," said sixth-year head coach Bobby Cashman. "We hope to build on that and continue to improve."
One of the bright spots for the Golden Knights in the 7-0 loss to the Gators in the season opener was the play of senior duo Simon Jaeger and Joel Allen, who defeated the All-American tandem of Hamid Mirzadeh and Chris Brandi, 9-7. Allen also played well at No.2 singles falling, 6-3, 7-6 (4), to No. 63 Vladimir Obradovic.
Against Alabama on Friday - a match that begins at 7 p.m. ET, the Knights face the No. 31 ranked singles player in sophomore Luigi D'Agord. A redshirt during 2004, he leads a team that includes six freshmen.
To UCF's advantage is the fact that the Crimson Tide has two matches scheduled that day with the first against Birmingham Southern starting at 2 p.m. The Knights lost to Alabama, 6-1, at home last year and have a 0-2 record all-time against the Tide.
On Saturday at 1 p.m., UCF takes on future Conference USA rival UAB at the Brook Island Racquet Club. The Blazers opened the season with a 7-0 sweep of Alabama A&M on Wednesday as Andre Maier delivered a shutout at No.4 singles. Sebastian Falk, a transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock, also played well for UAB earning a 6-2, 6-0 win at No. 1 singles.
The Knights and Blazers are tied at 1-1 in the all-time series.
The weekend's competition is tough but Cashman has faith in his squad's capabilities. "We're looking forward to playing two more quality opponents, but the whole team needs to show up in order for us to do well against Alabama and UAB."