ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Refreshed with a batch of new talent, the UCF men's tennis team opens play in the 2018 season with a road trip to No. 9 Florida on Monday night at 6 p.m.
Director of Tennis John Roddick guided the Knights to their first NCAA Tournament since 2005 behind a 16-7 record. The 16 victories was the most for the Black and Gold in 15 seasons, and included wins against No. 23 Texas Tech, No. 29 South Alabama, No. 29 Florida State, No. 25 USF and No. 27 Tulane.
Senior Korey Lovett began the fall ranked No. 23 in singles play. Joined by fellow senior Danny Kerznerman, the veteran duo will lead a relatively young, but extremely experienced, squad in 2018.
Gabriel Decamps, Vasyl Kiselyov, Alan Rubio, Mikhail Sokolovskiy and Eero Vasa were among the top ranked ITF Juniors. Decamps, a Brazilian international, climbed up to 17th in the world as a junior. Rubio topped out at 29th, Sokolovskiy was 40th and Vasa peaked at 52nd.
The fall season served as an opportunity for the new players to acclimate to the collegiate game, while participating in ITF Futures events. Kerznerman took home consolation runner-up honors at the Dick Vitale Clay Court Classic.
In addition to coaching from Roddick, UCF added assistant Matt Walters to the staff. The former Arkansas standout previously coached at Mississippi State
After playing the Gators, the Knights will head to Los Angeles, Calif., for the ITA Kickoff, where they will face Utah State next Saturday at 11:30 a.m. and play another match on Sunday. UCF will travel to Auburn on Feb. 4, before returning for its home opener against North Florida on Feb. 7.
UCF will partake in the USTA College MatchDay series on March 3 against Michigan and April 15 against USF.
Florida posted a 19-10 record and reached the NCAA Tournament Round of 16 in 2017. The Knights will have to be at their best against the No. 9 ranked a Gators roster that feature a trio of players ranked in the Top-50. Johannes Ingildsen will start the year seventh in the country, Alfredo Perez is eighth and Duarte Vale is 38th. Ingildsen and Perez are also the top doubles pairing in the nation.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men'sTennis on social media on Facebook (/UCF.MTennis), Twitter (UCF_WTennis) and Instagram (UCF.MTennis).