March 22, 2006
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ORLANDO - The UCF men's tennis team heads west this week, competing in the Boise State Red Lion Spring Break Tournament in Idaho. The Golden Knights (7-6) open play at the tournament on Thursday, facing Georgia State at 11 a.m. Eastern.
UCF will play four matches at the event, which concludes on Saturday. The UCF-Georgia State winner will face the winner of the Ball State-Lewis & Clark match on Thursday afternoon.
Sixteen teams are competing at the event, which will be played on the Boise State campus, along with the Boise Racquet and Swim Club and Crane Creek. Five ranked teams will participate in the tournament. Boise State is 23rd in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings and South Alabama (34), Western Michigan (40), Louisiana-Lafayette (48) and Ball State (70) are also ranked this week.
The host Broncos are the top seed at the event. Louisiana-Lafayette is seeded second, South Alabama is the third seed and Ball State is the fourth seed.
UCF will be playing outside of Florida for the first time this season. The team was scheduled to play a pair of matches in Georgia from Feb. 11-12 (including a match with Georgia State), but inclement weather forced the cancellation of both contests. Head coach Bobby Cashman's team has played seven home contests and six matches at in-state opponents.
UCF and Georgia State are former Atlantic Sun Conference rivals. The squads met last year on April 16 in semifinal play at the A-Sun Championship in DeLand, Fla. The Golden Knights posted a 4-3 win.
Both programs are in their first season in new conferences. UCF is in Conference USA and the Panthers are a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. The all-time series against Georgia State is tied, with both teams winning 10 matches.
Ball State is 6-3 all-time against the Golden Knights. UCF has never faced Lewis & Clark.
Nevada, Texas-Arlington, Portland, Wichita State, College of Santa Fe, Gonzaga, Idaho and Idaho State are also participating in the tournament.