Sept. 2, 2009
By Sarah Bishop
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team will face a difficult schedule during the 2010 season. The Knights, who open the spring campaign on Jan. 22 at No. 11 Florida, will face eight squads who finished the 2009 campaign ranked among the top-75 teams in the country.
UCF will play 15 matches in Florida, including two contests against squads in the top 20: Florida and No. 19 Miami. The Knights will also play at NCAA Championship participant USF.
Head coach Bobby Cashman's Knights will play host to nine contests at the UCF Tennis Complex, beginning with Troy (Feb. 5) and Georgia Southern (Feb. 7). Indiana (March 17) and DePaul (March 27) will both play in Orlando this year after finishing the 2009 campaign ranked among the top-75 teams in the country.
The Knights will also play at Tulsa (April 3), who captured the 2009 Conference USA Championship.
"Our team is going to have the opportunity to face some of the best teams in the country. We want to get into and stay in the national rankings and you must play the best teams in order to do that," Cashman said. "Each and every match is going to be a challenge for our guys, but I know that they are looking forward to facing some great competition."
Other highlights of the schedule include a match at Clemson (March 6) and a contest at Oklahoma State (April 1).
Beginning April 22, the Knights will be in Houston for the C-USA Championship.
Cashman's squad returns five letterwinners from last year's team, including All-C-USA Second Team selection junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.). Two players who missed the spring campaign due to injury, sophomore Claudio Romano (Valencia, Venezuela) and senior Brock Sakey (Gulf Breeze, Fla.), also return.
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.