ORLANDO - The UCF men’s tennis team has announced its inaugural schedule as a member of the Big 12 conference. Head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess, embarking on his first season at the helm, will lead the Knights through a strong non-conference slate before shifting to the month long conference campaign that initiates with Texas March 22 before commencing with TCU April 13, two of the final four teams in last year’s NCAA tournament.
The 2024 regular season will begin Jan. 15, the earliest opening match for the Knights since 2017, when UCF travels north for a doubleheader against UNC Wilmington and Coastal Carolina, hosted in Conway, South Carolina, will span seven states for just under 100 days.
The aforementioned doubleheader will mark the first to open a regular season since 2015 when the Knights faced South Alabama and St. Johns in Tallahassee, Florida. UCF will return to the world-renowned USTA National Campus for its home opener Jan. 20 for a noon meeting with North Florida, which opens a four-match home stretch that concludes with Miami Feb. 11.
VIEW FROM THE STANDS
Combined Record of 2024 Opponents Last Season: 325-238
- Non-Conference (14 Opponents): 207-162
- Big 12 Opponents (Seven Opponents): 118-76
2024 Opponents in the 2023 NCAA Tournament:
- UNC Wilmington (First Round)
- Florida (First Round)
- Texas (Semifinals)
- Baylor (First Round)
- Texas Tech (First Round)
- Oklahoma State (Second Round)
- Oklahoma (Second Round)
- TCU (Semifinals)
Expected Distance Traveled During the 2024 Season:
- 9,780 Miles (Six Road-Trips)
- Longest: 2800 Miles (Orlando to Wichita to Tulsa to Orlando)
- Shortest: 250 Miles (Orlando to DeLand to Gainesville to Orlando)
JANUARY
UNC Wilmington will serve as a difficult opponent to open the 2024 season. The Seahawks are fresh off an NCAA tournament appearance following their ninth Coastal Athletic Association (CAA) title. The two teams last met in 2017 when the Knights earned a dominant 7-0 triumph in Orlando.
The doubleheader, which will be hosted by Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina, will conclude with the hosts and the Knights meeting at 5 p.m. It will mark the first matchup between the two programs as the Chanticleers will round out their season-opening day against UCF.
North Florida and the Knights will meet for the 21st time Jan. 20 at the USTA National Campus for a noon matchup. A season ago, UCF bested the Ospreys 5-2, moving its win streak versus its northern opponents to five consecutive. A week later, Georgia Southern will make its second consecutive journey south for a noon meeting Jan. 27 in Orlando to round out the month. The Knights boast a 9-3 record all-time versus the Eagles following a 5-2 victory in their second match of 2023.
FEBRUARY
The Knights continue their four-match homestand with the second of six in-state opponents, as the state of Florida continues to be one of the most competitive states in collegiate tennis. FAU will make the short trip north Feb. 8 for a 5 p.m. matchup with UCF. The two teams first met nearly a half-century ago in 1977 and have faced each other on 41 (32-9) occasions, the most of any opponent in program history aside from South Florida.
In 2023, UCF bested the Owls in Boca Raton, Florida, 5-2. Another south Florida foe will make the trip to Orlando, as Miami and the Knights meet Feb. 11 at 3 p.m. Last season, the Knights dropped their first match to the Hurricanes since 2018 and will look to get back into the win column to cap off the homestand.
A first and only road trip in the Sunshine State will see the Knights travel north to DeLand for a meeting with Stetson Feb. 17 at 3 p.m., before continuing up I-75 a day later for the team’s 23rd all-time meeting with Florida at 3 p.m.
Stetson and UCF didn’t meet for the first time in three seasons in 2023, though the Knights hold a 27-8 advantage all-time over the Hatters. As for the Gators, UCF will look to boast a strong non-conference win and the first ever over Florida in program history.
Following a last-minute trip to Birmingham in 2023, the Knights will face UAB once again on the 25th at noon to wrap up February. Last season, the Knights defeated the Blazers 4-2 though the Conference USA squad will prove to be a difficult test for UCF ahead of conference play.
MARCH (Big 12 Play Begins)
A familiar opponent will make the trip across I-4 to the USTA National Campus as the Knights welcome in March with South Florida on the first at noon. In 2023, the teams produced two highly entertaining affairs in their last season as conference mates. The Knights bested the Bulls in Tampa following a dramatic 4-3 triumph before completing the season sweep in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals by the same score.
The programs have played a remarkable 49 times and their half-century mark in 2024 will usher in a new era in the rivalry as UCF now calls the Big 12 home following a decade with the Bulls in the AAC.
The last back-to-back set of matches sees UCF welcome Penn (March 4) and South Alabama (March 5) for two noon contests. The 48-hour period resembles the Knights’ final two matches of the shortened 2020 campaign from March 10-11 when they bested Penn in an exhilarating 4-3 bout before defeating South Alabama, 4-1.
Concluding the non-conference away slate, UCF will embark on a familiar midwest road trip for meetings with Wichita State in Kansas and Tulsa in Oklahoma. While in the AAC together, UCF was a combined 8-3 against the two programs, including a perfect record against the Shockers. UCF returns home for its last non-conference contest of the season March 14 at 7 p.m. against Southern Miss.
The Knights’ new story as members of the Big 12 begins with a trip to the Lone Star State for meetings with two 2023 NCAA Tournament participants.
Austin, Texas, will play host to UCF’s inaugural Big 12 match March 22 at 7 p.m. as the Longhorns, fresh of a trip to the semifinals of the Big 12 Championship and a regular-season title, face the Knights for the third consecutive season. In 2023, the Knights fell just short to then-No. 2 Texas 4-3 in Lake Nona. Two days later, UCF makes the short journey north to Waco for a meeting with Baylor March 24 at 1 p.m. The Bears are one of two Big 12 programs who have won an NCAA Championship (2004) and continue to be among the best the conference has to offer, owning a combined 118-34 record over the past five seasons, including three Big 12 tournament crowns.
Following the inaugural conference road trip, the Knights return to the USTA National Campus March 28 for its first homestand as a member of the Big 12. With back-to-back campaigns of .500 play, Oklahoma State and the Knights have met four times since 2018, splitting the contests. The month’s final match will see the Sooners and Knights face off for the first time since UCF’s 4-0 sweep in Norman, Oklahoma, in 2021. Oklahoma has placed among the top three twice over the past five seasons including a trip to the NCAA tournament in 2023.
APRIL
The four-match homestand continues with Texas Tech April 4 at 6 p.m. With a lone conference title in 2016, the Red Raiders have since consistently been among the contenders, not having fallen below .500 over the past five seasons.
UCF’s fellow newcomer, BYU, will make the long trip from Provo, Utah, for the Knights’ home finale April 6 at 6 p.m. While the Cougars have a combined 14-29 record over the previous two campaigns, they’ll still serve as a difficult test for the Black and Gold in the squad’s penultimate match of the regular season.
The reigning Big 12 Champions, TCU, welcome UCF to Fort Worth, Texas, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET. In 2022, the Horned Frogs were among the best teams in the country, eventually securing the program’s fourth trip to the semifinals of the NCAA tournament.
The 2024 edition of the Big 12 Championship will be played at the Greenwood Tennis Center in Stillwater, Oklahoma, from April 19-21/22. The conference’s prowess was on full display in 2023, as all six programs advanced to the NCAA Tournament and with two new squads (UCF and BYU) in the mix, the 2024 Big 12 Championship will feature all eight programs each looking for an automatic bid to the big dance.