Jan. 6, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - After a strong fall campaign, UCF sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) has entered the Intercollegiate Tennis Association national rankings. Romano, who went 5-1 in the fall, is ranked 82nd in the country.
The highlight of Romano's fall came in September when he claimed the flight 2 title at the USF Invitational in Tampa. He went 3-0 at the event, including a 6-4, 6-2 win over USF's Jamal Adderly, who was ranked 91st in the nation at the time.
Romano defeated two ranked foes during the campaign. In November, he topped Georgia State's Nejc Podrasjek, who was ranked 69th, 7-6 (9), 6-2, at the UCF Invitational. In 2007-08, Romano went 12-6 in singles play as a freshman. He won all 10 of his matches at the No. 5 position.
In addition to his national ranking, Romano is also listed 19th out of 30 players in the ITA Southeast Singles rankings. The southeast region is considered the toughest in the country.
UCF's tandem of senior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) and freshman Joe Delinks (Falmouth, Mass.) are ranked 60th nationally and 15th on the southeast doubles list. The pair went 7-0 during the fall.
In September, Sakey and Delinks advanced to the semifinals of the Southern Intercollegiate Championship. The Knights defeated Middle Tennessee's Alex McCann and Kyle Wishing, 8-1, and also posted a 9-8 (2) win against Jacksonville Murilo Souza and Victor Vaz.
The Knights are scheduled to open their spring campaign on Jan. 16, heading to Oklahoma to face No. 13 Tulsa.
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.