Jan. 22, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team returns to Orlando for its home opener against Florida Gulf Coast University (0-1) at 11 a.m. Satuday at the UCF Tennis Complex. The event begins a three-match homestand for the Knights.
UCF dropped its season opener, 6-1, at No. 13 Tulsa last week. Sophomore Blaze Schwartz (Pensecola, Fla.) picked up the lone point for the Knights when he defeated Marko Ballock at the No. 5 position, 4-6, 6-0, 6-1.
Junior Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden) had the tough task of taking on the No. 10 player in the nation Arnau Brugues. Beigart took the first set into a tiebreak, but could not hold off Brugues who claimed the 7-6(3), 6-0 victory.
FGCU arrives in Orlando coming off of a 6-1 loss to No. 63 Radford. The Eagles' lone point came from Thibaud Aime playing at the No. 2 spot defeating Ivan Selac in a 10-point third-set tiebreaker, 7-6 (4), 5-7, 1-0 (10-7).
Last year was the first time the two schools met. Facing off in Orlando, the Knights edged the Eagles 4-3. UCF leads the series, 1-0.
After Saturday's match, the Knights host North Florida and Bethune-Cookman for a doubleheader on Jan. 31.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com - the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF's new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.