Sept. 12, 2007
Orlando, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - Three student-athletes from the UCF men's tennis team were selected by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) to participate in the ITA All-American Championship progression. Junior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla./Gulf Breeze), sophomore Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) and freshman Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) will play in the event starting on Sept. 29 at the University of Tulsa's Michael D. Case Tennis Center.
Should any of the three Knights make it beyond the pre-qualifying event and reach the final 16, the players will advance to the qualifying singles draw, held on Oct. 13. There were only three other players from Conference USA named to participate in the singles portion of the tournament.
The singles field consists of 128 players vying for the 16 qualifying spots.
Sakey, who was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year in 2006, ended last season 11-10 in singles play. While playing doubles, Norman Alcantara and Sakey combined for a 15-5 mark overall, with a 7-1 stint at the No. 2 spot. The duo was ranked 55th by the ITA midway through the season.
Named to the All C-USA Second Team, Beigart finished his inaugural season with the Knights going 17-6 on the year in singles. He posted an 11-2 mark at No. 3 and was a perfect 4-0 against conference competition.
The Knights finished last season 12-12, carrying a 9-3 mark at the UCF Tennis Complex. UCF knocked off three nationally-ranked opponents in the spring of 2007.
The Black and Gold will start the fall season on Sept. 23 at the Rollins C.L Varner Invitational in Winter Park. For the latest news and information on the Knights, tickets or apparel log on to www.ucfathletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. Also, check out UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures. -UCF-