Sept. 7, 2011
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By Brian Ormiston
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF women's tennis head coach Stephanie Nickitas was announced Wednesday as a member of the 2012 University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame class. She will join seven other Gators along with a distinguished letterwinner as part of a class which will be honored at the UF Hall of Fame Induction Banquet April 6.
Entering her fifth season at UCF in 2011-12, Nickitas partnered with Dawn Buth at Florida to claim the 1996 and 1997 NCAA Doubles championships, becoming the first tandem in Division I history to go back-to-back. In the all-time UF record book, Nickitas ranks second for career doubles winning percentage (89.5), No. 2 with 128 doubles wins and No. 1 for single-season doubles winning percentage (97.6, 41-1 in 1996).
From 1996-99, the Gators won the overall NCAA title in 1996 and 1998 as they lost just three matches (120-3) during those four seasons. Nickitas won 128-career singles matches, and with an overall singles record of 128-22, her 85.3 winning percentage is fifth in Florida history.
Nickitas was a six-time All-American and eventually was selected for the 1999 NCAA Top VIII Award, which honors the most-deserving eight student-athletes from across the country in all sports for their athletic, academic and leadership achievements.
When Nickitas ventured to Orlando, she made an immediate impact on the women's tennis program, as the Knights went a combined 60-30 on the doubles courts in 2007-08. One year later, UCF posted 12 wins against a schedule that included three top-15 programs, and in 2009-10 it completed the campaign with a 13-7 record.
Last season, the Knights earned a No. 5 seed in the Conference USA Championship which tied for their highest seed since joining the league in 2005-06. Then a freshman, Josephine Haraldson produced an impressive 19 singles wins, while the Knights were selected as an ITA All-Academic Team for having a grade-point average higher than a 3.2.
Nickitas and the Knights get their fall season underway with the UCF Quad Tournament Sept. 23-25 at the UCF Tennis Complex. Admission will be free all weekend.