April 15, 2008
ORLANDO, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - With the regular season in the past, the UCF women's tennis team now looks forward to the 2008 Conference USA Championship hosted by Houston Thursday-Sunday. The Knights opened up play as the No. 7 seed and will battle No. 10 Memphis Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
Owning an 11-8 record entering the weekend, UCF has won three-straight matches and went 3-1 vs. C-USA teams during the year (contests vs. Houston and Tulsa were cancelled due to weather). As a team, the Knights are 102-76 in singles play, led by seniors Anna Yakimchenkova and Kyla McNicol and freshman Jenny Frisell, who each have 17. Meanwhile, junior Elvira Serrot has won four-consecutive matches en route to 14 singles victories.
The doubles teams have looked even stronger, as UCF 57-28 on the doubles courts. Serrot and senior Jennifer Carati are winners of 10-straight for a 17-6 record, including a 12-3 mark at No. 2. Frisell and McNicol bring an 8-8 mark at the No. 1 spot with them into the meeting with Memphis, while Yakimchenkova and junior Kenza Belbacha are10-5 at No. 3 this season.
Memphis will tangle with UCF with a 9-12 record after closing its regular season with a 7-0 shutout of Central Arkansas. The Tigers were 1-3 vs. C-USA programs in 2008, picking up a win over UTEP. Marjorie Ondeck leads the team with 16 singles triumphs, but Ashley Murdock has won six in a row for a 15-4 overall record.
In its first two appearances in the C-USA Championship, UCF has won its first match 4-0 each time, but went on to suffer quarterfinal losses. In all, the Knights have a 2-2 all-time record in the tournament, and are 33-21 all-time in postseason events.
UCF already tangled with Memphis once in April, defeating the Tigers, 4-0, on their home court April 5. The Black and Gold now stands at 4-0 vs. Memphis, but the two programs have never faced each other in the conference tournament.
The winner between the Knights and Tigers will meet up with No. 2 Marshall Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
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.