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Women's Tennis Battles FAMU on Saturday

Feb. 25, 2005

ORLANDO - The UCF women's tennis team plays host to Florida A&M at the UCF Tennis Complex on Saturday. First serve is scheduled for 11 a.m.

The Golden Knights, which began the season on a four-game slide against tough nationally ranked competition, have won two of their last three matches with both victories coming against conference rivals Florida Atlantic and Jacksonville. With two Atlantic Sun wins and a 3-6 overall record, they turn their focus toward FAMU (7-3) before battling Davidson on Monday.

For the UCF players, the next two matches are a chance to fine tune their games prior to next weekend - which features conference foe Mercer and 2004 A-Sun Champion Troy.

"Both FAMU and Davidson are good solid opponents. We need to play well in both matches to further prepare ourselves for conference," said head coach Patricia Allison, who is in her sixth year with the program. "We need to hone our skills and really learn to be more aggressive in doubles."

Some of the players met FAMU opponents in the Lady Seminole Classic last fall. Senior Ola Luczak came away with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Anita Abad, while freshman Anna Yakimchenkova defeated Aja Jaja, 6-0, 6-2. Yakimchenkova also teamed up with sophomore Megan Rosario-Hunter to take an 8-4 victory over Abad and Jaja in the doubles competition.

The Golden Knights have never dropped a match to the Rattlerettes winning the previous eight meetings.