ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Before even stepping foot on UCF's campus, Korey Lovett had aspirations of competing in the NCAA Singles Championships. This spring he accomplished that feat.
This is not his first time in the postseason though. For the past two years, Lovett has earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Championship doubles bracket.
The Brevard, N.C., native joined the Knights for the 2017 season after two years at Alabama. During his sophomore campaign, he finished in the top-10 of the doubles rankings and earned All-America honors.
"I believed from the beginning that my goal (of making the NCAA Singles Championships) was achievable," Lovett said. "I tried to not think about it, played my own style of tennis and waited to see where it took me."
The junior earned an Oracle/ITA preseason singles ranking of No. 51 to start the 2016-17 year. Throughout the fall, Lovett competed in numerous tournaments, both collegiate and professional.
"My goal for the fall was to get in the best shape that I could and get acclimated to the new environment," Lovett said. "The coaches changed a lot of my game for the better in the fall. It was tough for me to play like that because (in tournaments) I wasn't getting the results I wanted, but I knew it would come if I kept (practicing and improving)."
Throughout the fall, Lovett won multiple matches but couldn't make it deep into the main draw. In the first rankings of 2017, Lovett dropped out of the singles rankings all together.
Coach Roddick and Lovett worked on making adjustments for every part of his game including how he constructed points and the way he thinks on the court.
"They were all minor adjustments but they have all paid off," said Lovett.
He began to see the results of the tweaks the coaches made. He tallied a 6-0 record to start the spring season and reappeared back in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings at No. 43. He continued to see results as he defeated four ranked opponents including No. 28 Or Ram-Harel of Tulsa.
"When we were at Florida State, Coach Roddick said 'This is where the teams that do well in May start coming together rather than breaking down,'" Lovett said. "The team bought in to that mentality."
The Knights closed out the regular season by defeating their last six opponents. The Black and Gold posted wins over No. 29 Florida State and No. 26 USF. Lovett used the momentum to help his team make its first American Athletic Conference Championship finals appearance.
Following The American Championship finals, UCF earned its first ever at-large bid to the NCAA Championships. Against No. 42 Louisville, Lovett helped the Knights clinch the doubles point and added a singles victory.
He currently has a 15-8 singles record in dual matches and is No. 42 in the Oracle/ITA Singles Rankings.
The seeding for the singles bracket will be announced either May 22 or May 23 and Lovett takes the court for first round action May 24.
