ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – With the Knights starting to prepare for another season on the courts, the UCF women’s tennis team and head coach Stephanie Nickitas released the 2009-10 schedule Friday. A total of 15 home events are slated for the UCF Tennis Complex beginning with the UCF Quad Tournament Jan. 16-18 that features No. 19 Florida State, No. 26 Alabama and No. 33 Illinois.
“We’re excited to have another strong schedule this year, and that we are playing five Conference USA schools in the regular season so we will get to see more league teams before the conference tournament,” said Nickitas, who just completed her second season with the Knights with a 12-10 record. “We again play some top-ranked schools as well such as Florida, Florida State and SMU.
“I am also looking forward to hosting a tournament in January as we are bringing in powerhouses FSU, Alabama and Illinois. Playing these schools gives our players a great opportunity to see some of the top competition in the country and to get some wins against ranked opponents.”
C-USA does not have an official regular-season schedule so the most matches UCF has had against league opponents was four in 2005-06 and 2007-08. This year, the Knights will play Memphis, UAB, East Carolina, C-USA champion SMU and UTEP.
Overall, six of the Black and Gold’s foes in the spring advanced to the NCAA Tournament a year ago (Alabama, Florida, Florida State, FIU, Illinois and SMU).
The fall tournament season kicks off with the Florida Gulf Coast Tournament Sept. 25-27. The Knights also will be competing in the ITA Riviera All-American Championships, the North Florida Tournament, the ITA Southern Regionals and the Florida State Tournament in the upcoming semester.
When UCF returns to campus in January, it will get things started with its own tournament Jan. 16-18 before getting the dual-match season underway at home vs. FGCU Jan. 23. Following a trip to UF Jan. 27, it hosts Michigan State Jan. 29 and Florida Atlantic Jan. 30. The Knights and Spartans have never faced each other on the tennis courts, while UCF owns a 21-11 lead in the series vs. FAU.
The Black and Gold stay in state with journeys to Jacksonville, Florida State and Florida A&M, then start an eight-match homestand that lasts from Feb. 21-March 24. UCF will face Memphis, USF, Louisiana-Lafayette, Harvard, UAB, New Mexico, Akron and North Florida during that stretch.
The regular-season road schedule wraps up at UTEP April 3 and at SMU April 4, while the home campaign concludes vs. Stetson April 9, FIU April 10 and ECU April 17. The Knights have faced Stetson more than any other opponent with the Hatters claiming a 26-18 lead, yet UCF has won the last 16 meetings.
To join this year’s UCF Match Point Club, check out the brochure on the women’s tennis page at UCFAthletics.com or call 407-823-5853.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to UCFAthletics.com – the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF’s new online apparel store. Also visit UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
2009-10 UCF Women’s Tennis Schedule
Sept. 25-27 – Florida Gulf Coast Tournament
Oct. 3-11 – ITA Riviera All-American Championships
Oct. 9-11 – North Florida Tournament
Oct. 23-26 – ITA Southern Regionals at Auburn
Nov. 6-8 – Florida State Tournament
Jan. 16-18 – UCF Quad Tournament w/ FSU, Alabama, Illinois
Jan. 23 – Florida Gulf Coast – 2 p.m.
Jan. 27 – at Florida – 5 p.m.
Jan. 29 – Michigan State – 4 p.m.
Jan. 30 – Florida Atlantic – 2 p.m.
Feb. 6 – at Jacksonville – 12 p.m.
Feb. 13 – at Florida State – 12 p.m.
Feb. 14 – at Florida A&M – 10 a.m.
Feb. 21 – Memphis – 12 p.m.
Feb. 24 – USF – 4 p.m.
March 5 – Louisiana-Lafayette – 2 p.m.
March 6 – Harvard – 2 p.m.
March 10 – UAB – 4 p.m.
March 17 – New Mexico – 4 p.m.
March 19 – Akron – 4 p.m.
March 24 – North Florida – 4 p.m.
April 3 – at UTEP – 12 p.m.
April 4 – at SMU – 12 p.m.
April 9 – Stetson – 4 p.m.
April 10 – Florida International – 12 p.m.
April 17 – East Carolina – 10 a.m.
April 22-25 – at C-USA Championship (Memphis, Tenn.)
May 14 – NCAA Tournament Begins
Schedule is subject to change
All Times Eastern
