Jan. 20, 2010
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF men's tennis team returns to action Friday when it faces No. 11 Florida in Gainesville. The event marks the third meeting for the teams this year, after having met each other at the FSU Invitational and ITA Regional in the fall.
The match is set to begin at 3 p.m. at the Linder Stadium at Ring Tennis Complex.
Last Sunday, the Knights concluded the USF Spring Invitational in Tampa. The three-day tournament hosted by USF was the first time back on the court for the Knights since Nov. 1.
Although doubles play was cut short on Sunday due to inclement weather, UCF finished the tournament strong. The Knights displayed an outstanding performance as their doubles teams swept against No. 59 Radford and garnered all but one win over Memphis. UCF's No. 21 ranked duo of senior Marc Rocafort (Barcelona, Spain) and junior Blaze Schwartz (Pensacola, Fla.) posted an 8-4 victory over Radford's Ivan Salec and Zack Watson.
The Knights got off to a slow start with only three wins in singles competition on Friday against Radford. But, due to the depth of the team, they were able to move players around and come back with five wins over Memphis Saturday. The Knights concluded the three-day tournament with three singles victories over USF.
The Gators head into the match Friday coming from the SEC Indoor Championships and holding a No. 11 ranking in the ITA preseason team rankings. Last weekend, Florida had their 10th ranked duo win the doubles title, along with other players advancing to the semifinals and quarterfinals in both doubles and singles play.
Being the first dual match for the Knights this season, facing No. 11 Florida will show head coach Bobby Cashman exactly the potential they have.
Following Florida, the Knights host Troy and Georgia Southern the first weekend in February.
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.