Aug. 19, 2009
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - Head coach Bobby Cashman has one goal each year when creating UCF's fall schedule: competition for the Knights. Cashman believes that the team's slate this fall will provide his players ample opportunities to square off against top-notch opponents.
The schedule features five events, including three in the Florida. In every event, the Knights will face players from some of the nation's best squads. For Cashman, the competition will help the Knights get ready for the dual-match campaign in the spring.
"Fall is always to prepare for the spring," he said. "We have a larger roster and want everyone to be able to face some good competition. We have a really good mix of tournaments this fall and I am excited to see our guys out there."
A few Knights will begin the fall on Sept. 17, participating in the Southern Intercollegiates in Athens, Ga. The entire team should be in action for two events in October - the Florida State Invitational in Tallahassee and the UCF Invitational. South Carolina is one of the participants in the event that the Knights will host on campus from Oct. 9-11.
At the end of October, the ITA Regional Championships in Georgia and the USF Invitational in Tampa are on the Knights' schedule. LSU, Miami and host USF are slated to compete in the tournament in Tampa.
After suffering injuries to key players last year, the Knights will have a deep and experienced team this season. The group is led by seniors Johan Beigart (Vaxjo, Sweden), Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) and Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain). Sakey was unable to play last spring.
Cashman will use the fall to experiment with different doubles lineups. During the 2009 dual-match season, the team's doubles play showed great improvement. This season he hopes the improvement begins in the fall.
"Doubles is such a crucial point in the match. If you win the doubles point, it is difficult to beat you," Cashman said. "The fall is for getting our doubles teams familiar with one another."
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.