ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.edu) – The War On I-4 continues Sunday with a College Match Day showcase between No. 38 UCF and USF men's tennis at the USTA National Campus for a 5:30 start.
"They've [USF} been a top 25, top 20, team the past four or five years, so they're definitely dangerous," said John Roddick, UCF Director of Tennis and men's head coach.
With a win versus the Bulls (7-15, 1-3), The Knights (10-8, 1-1) can clinch the points needed to claim the trophy in the rivalry series across all competing sports between the two American Athletic Conference teams.
The Black and Gold currently hold a 36-15 advantage over the Bulls, with six points up for grabs Sunday. There are still 27 points in play in other sports this spring, but with the Knights holding the higher NCAA graduation rate percentage as the tie-breaker, victory could come early for UCF.
This will be the final College Matchday showcase of the season at the USTA National Campus and will air live on The Tennis Channel.
Gates open at 3:30 p.m., with first serve slated for 5:30 p.m. Several pre-match festivities have been planned pending weather, including a special wheelchair clinic, beginning at 4 p.m. and an interactive kids clinic led by USTA teaching professionals, which also gets underway at 4 p.m.
.
Sunday will also be the final regular season match for the Knights, and the team will honor seniors Korey Lovett and Danny Kerznerman.
Lovett and freshman Eero Vasa boast one of the elite doubles pairs in the nation. The duo check in at No. 3 in the Oracle/ITA Division I rankings and lead UCF with a 14-2 record together.
The Brooklyn, NY native, Kerznerman has notched seven singles victories on the season. He and Lovett both earned singles wins over the Bulls last season in a 4-2 win against at the time a No. 26 USF team.
UCF returns to Orlando after playing the last three matches on the road. The Knights split their first two conference matches, taking down Tulsa 5-2 on April 6 and most recently falling 4-0 to Memphis on April 8.
Alan Rubio and Mikhail Sokolovskiy both have 10 singles wins on the year to pace the Knights.
USF has lost its last three matches, including a 6-1 loss to Tulane April 8.
The Bulls are led by senior Peter Bertran who is 11-7 in singles play this season.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men's Tennis on social media on Facebook (UCF.MTennis), Twitter (UCF_MTennis) and Instagram (UCF.MTennis).
