April 17, 2008
DALLAS, Texas (www.ucfathletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team traveled to Dallas on Wednesday to start preparing for the first round of the 2008 Conference USA Championship. UCF opens play against No. 70 UAB on Friday at 9 a.m. EST at the SMU Tennis Center.
The fifth-seeded Knights (11-8) are playing fourth-seeded UAB for the third-consecutive year in the opening round.
UCF ended its season with back-to-back victories, giving the team eight wins in its last 11 matches. The Knights knocked off No. 72 Florida Atlantic, 4-3, on April 3 and then defeated Jacksonville on Saturday, 6-1.
Freshman Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) leads the team with 12 singles wins and is on a 10-match winning-streak. Another freshman, Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla./Washington), has been instrumental in singles, registering a 9-2 mark after missing the first half of the season with an injury.
The Knights and UAB met earlier this season. The Blazers (12-2) took a 4-3 decision at the C-USA Shootout in February. UAB won at all three courts in doubles play and collected three singles victories for the win.
The Knights are 2-4 all-time against UAB.
The winner of the UAB/UCF match on Friday will play the winner of first-seeded Tulsa and eight-seeded Southern Miss on Saturday at 1 p.m. EST.
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