ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – Highlighted by 9 home matches at the UCF Collegiate Tennis Center at the USTA National Campus, a challenging road schedule and contests against 15 top 75 programs, the UCF men's tennis team has released their 2020 dual match season schedule.
UCF is coming off a solid season in which they posted a 15-11 record and earned their second NCAA Tournament berth in three seasons under Director of Tennis John Roddick. After a 1-5 start to the 2019 spring campaign, the Knights strung together seven straight victories including five consecutive shutouts, their biggest coming against Miami on College MatchDay. 11 of UCF's 15 victories were via the shutout. The Knights lost back to back heartbreakers, falling to No. 46 South Florida in the American Athletic Conference tournament championship and were edged by No. 28 Florida State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
When the 2018-19 season was all said and done, UCF had battled 13 ranked opponents including six in the top 25 upon playing them. At the start of the 2019-20 campaign, the Knights have five opponents scheduled and a total of 15 top 75 teams in a 21-match schedule.
The Knights have the potential to play at least one opponent from each Power 6 conference. UCF will play two SEC teams, two ACC schools, two Big 10 opponents, one Big 12 team and an opportunity to play a Pac 12 team in a tournament, should the results shake out favorably. The Black and Gold will play four American teams, all of them on the road.
UCF's spring begins as they host Mercer in the season opener on Jan. 17 at 5 p.m. The Knights will start their road schedule with a bang, traveling to No. 4 Florida on Jan. 19 at 1 p.m.
The Black and Gold will participate in ITA Kickoff Weekend on Jan. 25 and 26 as they'll travel to Los Angeles to take on No. 24 San Diego on that Saturday. The Knights will play either No. 11 UCLA or No. 74 San Diego State on Sunday, depending on the results of both Saturday matches.
The Knights will embark on a tough road trip following ITA Kickoff Weekend as they'll visit three top 15 programs and another top 50 team in a nine-day span. The first stop on the trip is against No. 2 Wake Forest on Jan. 31 before UCF heads north to take on No. 5 Virginia on Feb. 2. The Black and Gold will visit the Midwest and battle No. 49 Indiana on Feb. 7 and No. 15 Illinois the following day.
UCF will finally return home, having a 43-day gap between their home opener and their second home match. The Knights will host No. 63 FAU on Feb. 29 followed by Stetson on Mar. 1. The Black and Gold will visit their lone Big 12 school of the season as they travel to No. 27 Texas Tech on Mar. 6. They'll finish that breif road trip at Memphis (Mar. 8).
The remainder of March will see the Knights play six straight matches at home. The Knights will host No. 60 Penn (Mar. 10) and South Alabama (Mar. 11) in a four-day span. After a nine-day break, UCF will go back to work against North Florida (Mar. 21), Nebraska (Mar. 24), No. 50 Arkansas (Mar. 25) and No. 59 Cornell (Mar. 30).
The Knights will finish the regular season on the road with three American Athletic Conference matches. UCF will pay a visit to No. 44 Tulane on April 3 before wrapping up the weekend at No. 54 Tulsa on April 5. The Black and Gold will round out the season with their War On I-4 rivalry series against the No. 34 South Florida Bulls.
The American Athletic Conference Championships will be held in Tulsa this season from Apr. 16-20. Last season, the Knights hosted the conference championship tournament and fell in the championship to South Florida by a count of 4-3.
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