Sept. 20, 2010
="" alt="Knight Head" border="0" class="imported"> Read John Denton's Knights Insider | ="" alt="Twitter Logo" border="0" class="imported">Follow us on Twitter | ="" alt="Facebook Logo" border="0" class="imported">Get social with the Knights on Facebook
By Heather Lancaster
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - The UCF women's tennis team will open up its fall season this weekend in Coral Gables at the Miami Fall Invitational Friday through Sunday. The Knights will be competing against Miami, Michigan and South Florida in this weekend's tournament.
UCF has three more tournaments lined up for this fall, two of which are going to be hosted by the Knights. The next tournament will take place Oct. 8-11 at the UCF Tennis Complex. The Black and Gold will travel to Athens, Ga., for the ITA Regionals Oct. 22-24 before coming back home to finish the fall season Nov. 5-7.
Along with the team events this fall, Jenny Frisell will represent UCF when she travels out to Pacific Palisades, Calif., for the ITA/Riviera All-American.
Head coach Stephanie Nickitas sat down with UCFAthletics.com to preview the fall season:
What are your expectations for this tournament?
"My expectations are just to go out and have fun and start to feel what it's like to be in a competitive setting again. I am not too focused on the results right now. I just want everyone to get out there and start to implement the things we have been working on in practice and put them into a competitive environment. I expect everyone to go out with a lot of energy and enthusiasm and be prepared for some tough competition. It will be a good marker to see where we are at."
How will these fall tournaments help get ready for the spring dual matches?
"The fall is a time to build. We are working on many fundamentals and laying the groundwork for how we want to end up in the spring. We don't expect the ladies to play the best tennis of their lives in the very first tournament. They each have certain goals and objectives that they will be working on when they are out there."
What have you been doing to help prepare the team for this upcoming season?
"So far we have had great preparation. Our strength coach, Ben Fleming has done an excellent job with the team on the track, in the sand and in the weight room. They are developing a solid conditioning and strength base that will carry them through a long season of tennis. On the court, we have done a lot of individual work, fine tuning some technical things and in general just hitting lots of balls."
Do you feel the team is ready to begin competitive play?
"Yes, absolutely. After a few weeks of just practicing, you are looking forward to that time when you get out there and compete against other opponents. The ladies are excited and ready to go."
How do you think the newcomers will play in their first collegiate competition?
"They are going to surprise a lot of people. Courtney and Josephine have had a seamless transition into college life. I am really proud of how they have handled the work load of both what we are doing tennis wise and their academics. Genevieve will also get her first look at competition as well. She is extremely fired up to finally compete. I am just excited for the three of them to get out there and play."
This fall you are hosting two fall tournaments; will this help prepare for the spring?
"Hosting fall events benefit us in many ways. Of course, it's always nice to play at home and not have to travel and miss classes. You can play in front of your home crowd which is a nice advantage and it helps the freshmen get familiar with battling opponents on our home courts. We have some strong teams coming to play and it gives us an opportunity to get some solid wins."
No one covers the Knights like UCFAthletics.com, your official website for the UCF Knights.
Find out what's really going on at UCF through John Denton's Knights Insider, exclusively at UCFAthletics.com.
Get social with the Knights; follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Support our student-athletes through the Golden Knights Club. Don the Black and Gold, and show your school colors through the latest in Knights' fashion and apparel, only in the official UCF TeamFanShop online store. Purchase your official UCF Athletics action photography at UCFPhotos.com.
--UCF Athletics--