ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After a record-setting regular season, Korey Lovett and Eero Vasa get the chance to showcase their skills once again, as the NCAA Doubles Championships begin 9 a.m. Thursday from the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, N.C.
This is the first time in UCF men's tennis program history that the Knights will send a doubles pair to the NCAA Championships. Lovett and Vasa will compete against the top 32 tandems in the country, beginning with their opening round match against Henrik Korsgaard and Alexandre Ribeiro of Virginia Tech.
Specific match times will be set once opening round singles action finishes Wednesday. The UCF pairing was the automatic qualifier from the American Athletic Conference and are the No. 8 seed in this years draw.
"Korey and Eero did a great job this year at No. 1 doubles," director of tennis John Roddick said when they were selected. "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 eighth 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.
Korsgaard and Ribeiro currently sit at No. 27 in the national rankings. They are the sixth tandem to represent the Hokies in the 32-team doubles field and the third in as many seasons.
The duo is 8-5 this spring playing at No. 1 and posted four wins over ranked foes including a pair of victories versus the top-25. This marks Korsgaards second trip to the doubles championship after going last season with then-teammate Jai Corbett.
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