WSU (9-10) @ #57 UCF (4-10)
Friday, 4 p.m. CT
Orlando, Fla. | USTA National Campus

WSU vs. #60 South Florida (9-9)
Sunday, 12 p.m. CT
Tampa, Fla. | USF Varsity Tennis Courts
Live Scoring
 
ORLANDO/TAMPA, Fla. – The Wichita State men's tennis team travels to the Sunshine State for matches against two ranked conference opponents, No. 57 UCF and No. 60 South Florida.
 
"Excited to get back outdoors and compete against some of the best teams in our conference over the last few years," head coach Darragh Glavin said. "We've had some close losses the last few weeks, while facing some adversity that will only help us to grow and be tougher going forward. Lots of great opportunities ahead for this team, starting with a tough UCF team Friday."
 
STATE OF THE SHOCKERS
Wichita State dropped its last two home matches, 4-3, to UT Arlington and No. 74 Drake.
 
The Shockers are looking to earn their first team win over a ranked opponent this season first-ever wins against UCF and South Florida. The Shockers are seeking redemption after getting swept by both opponents in each of their last meetings.
 
These will be Wichita State's first American Athletic Conference matchups of the season.
 
With Kristof Minarik out of lineups due to illness last week, Misha Kvantaliani stepped up to take over at the top line, earning his first win over a ranked opponent (No. 92 Jeremy Schifris, Drake) and his second No. 1 singles win of the season.
 
Minarik is slated to return to lineups against UCF and will play his first singles match since Mar. 3.
 
Minarik and Alex Richards have played all of their doubles matches at court one and hold a 7-4 record, going 1-0 against ranked duos, while Kvantaliani and Orel Ovil hold a 7-3 record at court two.
 
Alejandro Jacome has recorded a team-high 11 singles wins across courts two, three, four and five, going undefeated in his two outings at No. 2.
 
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
UCF is 3-0 all-time against the Shockers, most recently claiming a 4-0 victory in 2021.

UCF dropped its last two matches to national powerhouses No. 4 Ohio State and No. 2 Texas, but moved up 10 spots in the ITA team rankings after picking up a No. 1 doubles win over the No. 3-ranked Texas duo and two singles wins over ranked Longhorns (one by retirement).
 
Five of the Knights' 10 losses have come against top-20 teams with four against top-10 teams.
 
Leyton Cronje and Bogdan Pavel moved up to No. 30 in the ITA rankings after defeating the No. 7 Ohio State duo and No. 3 Texas pair. The doubles team is on a three-match winning streaking and holds a record of 6-4 at court one.
 
The Bulls' top-ranked singles player, Liam Branger, has played all of his matches at courts four and five, winning (by retirement) one of three matches against ranked opponents.
 
No. 105 Pavel has held down the No. 1 singles spot after playing his first six matches at court two. Pavel has played four matches against ranked players, losing to the Nos. 1 and 2 players in the nation (at the time) and has yet to pick up a singles win over a ranked opponent.
 
In February, the Knights lost 4-1 to Nebraska, a team the Shockers defeated 4-3 the following weekend.
 
SCOUTING THE BULLS
South Florida is 2-0 all-time against the Shockers, earning a 7-0 sweep a year ago at Genesis Health Clubs.
 
The Bulls are on a three-match win streak and have won five of their last six matches as they are set to face No. 58 Florida Atlantic prior to taking on the Shockers.