June 4, 2013
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By Doug Richards
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - A pair of talented incoming freshmen - Inaki Espindola and Jesse Flores - have joined head coach Bobby Cashman's UCF men's tennis program. Espindola is among the top junior players in Mexico and Flores has shined on the Canadian junior circuit.
"Last year our recruiting class was one of the top-20 in the country and Inaki and Jesse add to our young, but talented team," Cashman said. "They are both athletic, hard workers who can make an impact for our program."
Espindola (Villahermosa, Mexico) reached a career-high ITF ranking of 378 and earned a top-10 Mexican U18 national ranking. He was a U16 national doubles champion and national singles finalist in Mexico and also a grade 5 ITF doubles champion in Cuba and grade 4 ITF doubles finalist in Mexico.
He attended high school in Niagara Falls, Canada, and trained at the Niagara Academy of Tennis, where he was a two-time grade 5 singles semifinalist at the All-Canadian Championship.
"Inaki has a big serve. He is an all-court player who moves forward to finish," Cashman said. "He is a great doubles player, and that is a need that we have to address for next season."
A native of Oakville, Ontario, Flores has been ranked as high as No. 4 in the Canadian Junior rankings and is currently the second-ranked junior in Ontario. He was a grade 5 singles finalist at the All-Canadian ITF Championship.
A multi-sport standout, he was the captain of his high school basketball team for three years and was the provincial finals MVP for both soccer and basketball.
"He is a great athlete," Cashman said of Flores. "His game is on the rise. He has the ability to come in and make some positive contributions."
The pair joins a UCF program that routinely faces some of the nation's best competition under Cashman. This past spring, the Knights played eight ranked teams. UCF will make its debut in the American Athletic Conference in spring of 2014.