Jan. 19, 2006
ORLANDO - The UCF men's tennis team opens its 2006 campaign on Saturday, facing local foe Bethune-Cookman in Daytona Beach. First serve is slated for 1 p.m.
The Golden Knights return only three letterwinners from last season's squad that posted a 14-9 overall mark and made its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Championship. Head coach Bobby Cashman does welcome five talented newcomers to the team, headlined by freshmen Norman Alcantara and Tarek Ben Soltane.
Senior Ener Gursoy is UCF's most experienced player. He posted a 16-12 overall singles record last year and won nine matches at the No. 1 spot during dual-match play.
The Wildcats will also be making their season debut on Saturday. Bethune-Cookman went 6-17 last season.
UCF leads the all-time series, 6-0. The teams met on Feb. 12, 2005 in Orlando with the Golden Knights easing to a 7-0 victory. Gursoy was the only current Golden Knight player to compete in the match a year ago.