ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) –The UCF men's tennis team will take on Tulsa in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament Friday at 1 p.m. from the Crum Tennis Courts in Dallas, TX.
This will be the second straight year that the Knights (10-9, 1-2) enter the AAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. Last year's team began their run to the finals also challenging the Golden Hurricane (11-16, 2-3) in the second round.
"It's a matter of closing out a couple [matches] maybe the year or two before to prove that you can do that," said John Roddick, UCF Director of Tennis and head coach. "All of sudden you get the talent level and the work ethic and you just start taking care of your business."
UCF's Conference Tournament finals appearance in 2017 was the best finish for the Knights since the inception of the league in 2013. Along with UCF, No. 1 seed Memphis, No. 2 Tulane, and No. 4 Wichita State also earned first-round byes this year.
This year's team has faced some of the elite teams in the country in preparation for postseason play. The Knights, who currently sit at No. 42 in the Oracle/ITA rankings, faced 10 teams that currently rank inside the top 50.
UCF finished the regular season on April 15 with a 4-1 loss to USF in Orlando. The Black and Gold took down Tulsa 5-2 on the road late in the year this season.
An early doubles point set the stage for an impressive showing in singles play. Gabriel Decamps, Alan Rubio, Mikhail Sokolovskiy, and Eeero Vasa all knotted wins versus the Golden Hurricane.
Rubio and Sokolovskiy both lead UCF with 10 singles wins on the year. Korey Lovett and Eero Vasa continue to rank amongst the nation's best, checking at No. 3 nationally for the second consecutive week. The duo lead the Knights with 14 victories together.
Tulsa is led by junior Majed Kilani, who sits at No. 81 nationally in singles. Freshman Joshua Goodger also checks in at No. 93. Goodger and Jarod Hing rank No. 73 in doubles.
The Golden Hurricane finished the regular season with a 5-2 win over Conference Tournament host SMU on April 13.
Men's Schedule
Thursday, April 19 | First Round
- Match 1: No. 9 SMU (9-17) vs. No. 8 Temple (12-9)
9 a.m. CT | Crum Tennis Courts
Live Scoring - Match 2: No. 10 UConn (4-15) vs. No. 7 ECU (21-4)
9 a.m. CT | Turpin Stadium
Live Scoring
Friday, April 20 | Quarterfinals
- Match 3: SMU/Temple winner vs. No. 1 Memphis (17-4)
9 a.m. CT | Turpin Stadium
Live Scoring - Match 4: No. 5 USF (8-15) vs. No. 4 Wichita State (14-9)
9 a.m. CT | Crum Tennis Courts
Live Scoring - Match 5: UConn/USF winner vs. No. 2 Tulane (15-6)
Noon CT | Turpin Stadium
Live Scoring - Match 6: No. 6 Tulsa (11-15) vs. No. 3 UCF (10-9)
Noon CT | Crum Tennis Courts
Live Scoring
Saturday, April 21 | Semifinals
- Match 7: Match 3 winner vs. Match 4 winner
Noon CT | TBD
Live Scoring - Match 8: Match 5 winner vs. Match 6 winner
Noon CT TBD
Live Scoring
Sunday, April 22 | Final
- Match 9: Semifinal winners
Noon. CT | Turpin Stadium
American Digital Network
Live Scoring
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Men's Tennis on social media on Facebook (UCF.MTennis), Twitter (UCF_MTennis) and Instagram (UCF.MTennis).