ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the first time in UCF men's tennis program history, the Knights will send a doubles pair to the NCAA Championships. Senior Korey Lovett and freshman Eero Vasa will travel to Winston-Salem, N.C., to compete against the top 32 tandems in the country beginning May 24-28.
The UCF pairing was the automatic qualifier from the American Athletic Conference. They are grouped in the 5-8 seeds, along with competitors from USC, TCU and Tennessee.
"Korey and Eero did a great job this year at No. 1 doubles," director of tennis John Roddick said. "Reaching No. 3 in the nation without playing together in the fall is remarkable. I am very excited to see what they can do in the NCAA Tournament."
Lovett and Vasa excelled throughout the regular season – reaching a school record of No. 3 in the Oracle/ITA rankings on April 17. The duo are currently ranked fifth nationally.
The pair enter the tournament on a four-match win streak. The tandem led the Knights in double action with a 15-2 record together during the regular season, playing every match at the No. 1 position.
Lovett and Vasa went a perfect 6-0 versus ranked opponents this year. They began the year by knocking off the No. 1 ranked duo in the country in Alfredo Perez and Johannes Ingildsen of Florida.
The pair also earned a top-10 victory versus the No. 5 duo Johannes Schretter and Will Little of Baylor.
Lovett qualified for the Singles Championships during his junior year, which was also the first time a UCF Knight had been selected for that event.
The NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships commence at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex following the team competition that runs from May 11-22.
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