ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – With a 16-match slate, featuring 10 contests at the UCF College Tennis Center at the USTA National Campus, the UCF men’s tennis team announced its 2019 schedule.
The Knights will enter their third year under Director of Tennis John Roddick in 2019. UCF boasts a stacked lineup heading into the new campaign. Five players will start the spring ranked by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA). Gabriel DeCamps led the way at No. 31, Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi was 57th, Alan Rubio was 79th, Mikhail Sokolovskiy was 88th and Trey Hilderbrand was 107th.
The Black and Gold will go up against nine teams that reached the NCAA Tournament in 2018, including Elite Eight programs Florida and Illinois.
All 17 potential opponents finished ranked in the ITA Top-75 at the end of the 2018 campaign, including No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Illinois and No. 10 Florida.
UCF will be the center of the collegiate tennis world on March 3 for College Match Day against in-state foe Miami. Complimentary tickets can be acquired through Ticketmaster starting on Jan. 3.
UCF will also be a part of the ITA Kickoff Weekend at Stanford on Jan. 26-27. The Knights will face the host Cardinal and either Oregon or Minnesota.
The Knights will open the year with a pair of matches on the road at Arkansas (Jan. 19) and Stanford (Jan. 26), before the home opener against Florida on Jan. 31.
February will be a relatively quiet month for the Black and Gold, with just two matches on the road at Indiana (Feb. 8) and Michigan (Feb. 10).
UCF will return home for nine matches at the USTA National Campus in March, starting with the College Match Day battle against the Hurricanes. The Knights will see American Athletic Conference opponent Tulane on March 6.
The Knights will have a shot a trio of Power 6 wins over the course of six day with matchups against Penn State (March 8), Virginia (March 12) and Texas Tech (March 14).
Visits from South Alabama (March 18), Oklahoma State (March 20), Illinois (March 22) and FAU (March 31) will round out the busy month of March for the Black and Gold.
The regular season concludes on April 14, when the Knights travel to Tampa to face USF in the War On I-4.
The Knights will not have to travel far for the postseason, as the USTA National Campus is set to host the American Athletic Conference Championship (April 18-21) and the 2019 NCAA National Championship (May 20-29).
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