Feb. 3, 2005
ORLANDO - When the UCF women's tennis team opens its home slate this weekend, the Golden Knights are going to take advantage of what they learned during their season opening loss to No. 2 Florida. The team hosts No. 61 Auburn on Friday at 10 a.m. before facing No. 75 Florida International at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
The Knights (0-1) are learning that in order to win they have to grasp their opportunities and close out points. "While the match points were frequently long and hard fought, we were unable to get the edge," said sixth-year head coach Patricia Allison after the match against Florida.
Sophomore Becky Gordon continues to be a solid player for UCF. Against the Gators, she took the first set from No. 74 Lolita Frangulyan, 6-3, before dropping the second set by a similar score. Frangulyan earned the win with a 10-3 score in the tiebreaker. Gordon's overall singles record stands at 4-2 this season.
In doubles, the duo of senior co-captain Krisina Lohmos and junior co-captain Pamela Fernandez battled the No. 3 tandem in the country but eventually fell 8-5.
UCF will need to stay at the top of its game this weekend. Auburn brings a 0-1 record to Orlando after beating Atlantic Sun foe Jacksonville, 5-2. Tiger sophomore Nancy Peaden has an 11-1 record against non-conference opponents, while junior Ashley Cowart has a nine-match winning streak vs. non-conference opponents. The Knights are 0-1 against Auburn in series history as the only meeting resulted in a 5-2 win for the Tigers.
Meanwhile, FIU (0-1) also dropped its season opener to Florida by a score of 5-0. The Golden Panthers, who hold a 15-7 advantage in the all-time series, boast the No. 31 ranked doubles team in Desanka Janvanovic and Egle Petrauskaile.
"We have respect for both of these programs and look forward to playing them," said Allison, who is an alumnus of FIU. "These two matches will be true dog fights."
Admission to the matches is free.