Many of the alumni planning to be on campus, including those with NFL experience, will be taking part in the UCF Spring Football Festival where many will be join 2011 season ticket holders for an exclusive autograph session from 12-1 p.m. inside the stadium.

The game begins at 2 p.m. Cost of admission is $5 for fgeneral admission. Students and children 12 and under will be admitted free. Members of the current UCF football team will sign autographs for fans following the game.

Current NFL players returning for Saturday’s game are Atari Bigby, Pat Brown, Joe Burnett, Leger Douzable, Mike Greco, Brandon Marshall, Sha’reff Rashad, Asante Samuel, Mike Sims-Walker, Josh Sitton, Kevin Smith and Torell Troup.  Joining them are former NFL players Damien Demps, Corris Ervin, Travis Fisher, Ryan Flinn, Jimmy Fryzel, Doug Gabriel, Mike Gruttadauria, Alex Haynes, Rashad Jeanty, Shawn Jefferson, Darcy Johnson, Paul Miranda, Elton Patterson and Terrance Williams.

Several others will be on-hand Friday night for the annual Football Lettermen’s Club Golf Outing and Luncheon at Rio Pinar Country Club.

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The UCF softball team scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning Wednesday to defeat Florida State 2-1 in dramatic fashion at the UCF Softball Complex.

Senior Diana Rojas went the distance for the Knights in the circle in front of 538 fans, as she allowed just one run on four hits to the Seminoles.

“You could just see that she had energy and confidence out there. She was just taking care of business. I think it was by far one of her best complete-games that she has had since she’s been here, and what a great way to go out there against Florida State,” said head coach Renee Luers-Gillispie.

With two outs in the final inning junior Vanessa Perez started the rally by running out a two-strike single to shortstop.

“We knew that we needed to get a runner on,” Luers-Gillispie said. “We knew that once we got a runner on in that situation we could make things happen. Vanessa did what she does best and battled at the plate until their pitcher made a mistake, and then she took advantage of it.”

Sophomore Patrice Fee then stepped up and hit a double down the left field line to bring Perez around to tie the game. Tiffany Lane was up next. She hit a grounder down the third base line and used her speed to force FSU’s Briana Hamilton to rush the throw to first, which went wide, allowing Lane to reach base safely and giving Fee enough time to score the winning run.

“I think that the fans made all the difference in the world today,” Luers-Gillispie said. “When you hear the fans cheering for you, it’s amazing what happens to our players. They really stepped up and realized that they are playing for someone other than just themselves.”

Perez, Fee and Lane accounted for all three of the Knights’ hits in the contest, with Fee tallying a double, an RBI and one run scored to pace the squad at the plate. Senior Abby McClain also reached base twice after drawing a pair of walks.

Rojas and Florida State starter Sarah Hamilton were caught in a pitcher’s duel through the first five innings of the game, as neither allowed a runner to reach third and combined to give up only three hits before the sixth inning.

The Knights return to the field this weekend in Greenville, N.C. for a three-game Conference USA series against East Carolina.

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Sophomore shortstop Darnell Sweeney made up for an error that allowed No. 4 Florida to break a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning on Tuesday by lining a two-out, two-run double to center in the ninth to give UCF a 4-3 win in Gainesville.

“It was such a big win for us because we were able to bounce back (after the Southern Miss series). Every time we lose we find a way to come back in the next game and play really hard,” said Sweeney. “You have to get that big hit and that’s what we did today, we got the big hit and came out with a win.”

The victory was the fourth for UCF (20-9) over a top-five team since 2008. The Knights are now 5-5 against ranked teams this season and No. 32 in the first official RPI report released by the NCAA. Florida ranked No. 1 while six of the nine teams in Conference USA debuted in the top 50.

Sweeney went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in the win. His double to dead-center in the ninth for UCF was followed by the game’s final three outs of the game by centerfielder Ronnie Richardson, who stepped to the mound and retired the second, third and fourth hitters in the Florida (24-6) lineup.

“Coach (Terry) Rooney told me that if we went ahead I would have the ninth,” said Richardson, who struck out two. “When Darnell had that big hit I got the call. So I just went out there and tried to smother them, pound the strike zone and make them hit my pitch.”

Ryan Breen and Erik Hempe hit solo home runs to tie the game at 2-all. Breen went 2-for-4 with two runs while Beau Taylor finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Each team recorded seven hits on the day.

UCF used six relievers over the final seven innings, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out four over that span.

Making his second-career start after earning a win over No. 20 Stetson last week, UCF righty Chase Bradford had nobody on, two outs and two strikes in the first inning but ended up hitting a batter and issuing two walks to load the bases. Florida took advantage when designated hitter Austin Maddox lined a two-run single to center.

UCF gets back into C-USA play this weekend when it hosts Tulane beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.

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– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 9 Rollins 14, Edinboro 7

Two Tars tallied hat tricks to help Rollins improve to 8-3 on the season. Marissa Giannerini and Sophie Townsend each scored three goals while Erica Pagliarulo finished with two goals and an assist.

– College Softball – No. 12 Tampa 3, No. 7 Rollins 1

Rollins dropped the final game in the series to Tampa, giving the Tars its first loss of the season in Sunshine State Conference competition. Rollins saw its 32-game winning streak end as they dropped to 34-2 overall and 11-1 in the SSC. Jessica Moreland finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Hope Bitzer pitched five innings and struck out seven batters in relief.

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 5, No. 23 UCF 2

Following a 13-2 loss on Saturday, UCF got swept by Southern Miss after falling 5-2 in the third and final game of the series. UCF trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning but was unable to tie the game when Erik Hempe had his line drive towards left field turned into a double play by the Golden Eagles.

= SATURDAY, April 2, 2011 =

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

Two UCF school records fell at the Florida Relays in Gainesville as Dominique Booker, Aurieyall Scott, Lynne Layne and Sheila Paul set new standards. The 4×100-meter relay time of 43.75, set just the week before, was replaced by a 43.53 effort. The 4×200-meter relay mark of 1:32.81 from three years ago was replaced by a time of 1:26.34.

– College Baseball – Rollins 15, Lynn 7

The Tars dropped the first game of the doubleheader 12-3 before returning to the field and snapping a five-game losing streak. Rollins jumped out to a 9-3 lead after scoring runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Brian Lattanzi went 3-for-5 and John Avanzino finished 2-for-4 with 5 RBI. Matt White got the win with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings to help the Tars improve to 19-14 overall and 2-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.

– Arena Football League – Arizona 48, Predators 47

Nick Hill was intercepted in the final minute of the game before the Arizona Rattlers went on to score a touchdown and two-point conversion with eight seconds left to shock the Orlando Predators. Arizona outscored the Preds 22-6 in the final quarter after Orlando jumped out to a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play. Hill threw five touchdowns but was intercepted twice while Bobby Sippio led the Preds with 12 receptions for 149 yards and a score.

– Florida Football Alliance – Rage 37, Duval 6

Former UCF and University High School quarterback Kyle Israel threw touchdown passes to Preston McGann and Jeremiah Chatman as the Orlando Rage closed out the regular season with a 10-0 mark. With the win over the Duval Panthers, the Rage wrapped up consecutive unbeaten seasons and improved to 31-1 over the past three years. Postseason play begins this weekend. The Rage will host the winner between the Jacksonville Knights and Daytona Beach Wildcats on April 16.

– United Soccer Leagues – Richmond 2, Lions 0

Richmond scored on a penalty kick near the end of the first half and tacked on another goal in the 84th minute to turn away Orlando City in its first-ever USL Pro game.

– Women’s College Tennis – No. 4 Barry 8, No. 9 Rollins 1

Rollins senior Margaret Junker, ranked No. 17 in the nation, won the lone match for the Tars as she defeated No. 33 Angie Werschel 7-5, 3-6, 10-5.

= FRIDAY, April 1, 2011 =

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 6, No. 23 UCF 5

UCF manager Terry Rooney and pitcher Ben Lively were tossed from the game, but the Knights nearly pulled the upset after being tied at 3-all in the ninth. UCF fell to 19-7 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA. The Knights committed a season-high five errors and are now 4-3 against ranked teams.

– Men’s College Tennis – No. 9 Rollins 6, No. 26 Saint Leo 3

The Tars improved to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sunshine State Conference as No. 5 Jeff Morris overcame a loss in the first set to put away Matt Nicholson-Lewis 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Morris and Arturo Baravalle were upended in doubles play by the No. 23 pairing of Nicholson-Lewis and Victor Lozier 8-5.

– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 2 Lock Haven 12, No. 9 Rollins 7

Tied at 5-all at the halftime break, Rollins (7-3) could not keep up with unbeaten Lock Haven (9-0) while on the road. Tori Snow and Marissa Giannerini each scored two goals in the loss for Rollins.

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

UCF freshman Aurieyall Scott set a new school record in the 200 meter with a time of 22.98 at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. Classmate Dominique Booker previously held the mark at 23.70, set last week at the UCF Invitational.

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During Tuesday’s 8-2 win over No. 20 Stetson at Jay Bergman Field, Darnell Sweeney and Erik Hempe each drove in two runs while Chase Bradford struck out four in six innings in his first career start for the Knights.

The game was played in front of 1,430 fans and served as merely another obstacle along the road to returning to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

“It’s been a while since UCF baseball has been in the Top 25, but the fact that it’s only No. 23 means we still got a ways to go,” Sweeney said afterwards. “We’re happy where we are but we’re not satisfied.”

UCF (19-6) was playing in its first game as a ranked team since 2008. They’ll get right back at it on Wednesday in DeLand in a rematch with the Hatters (20-6) at 6:30 p.m. The Knights lead the all-time series against Stetson 68-48 and have won the last eight meetings dating back to 2007.

Sweeney doubled in the first and singled in the fourth, finishing 2-for-4 on the night with a run scored. He also stole a base following his first at-bat and was later caught stealing in the sixth inning.

Hempe went 3-for-3 and was walked twice while Travis Shreve (2-for-5), Jonathan Griffin (2-for-4) and Beau Taylor (2-for-4) rounded out the Knights with multiple hits.

UCF tallied 14 hits in all as a team and led 6-1 after four innings.

Nick Cicio and outfielder Ronnie Richardson closed out the final three innings on the rubber in fine fashion. Despite loading the bases at one point late in the game, Cicio struck out three and walked two in 2.1 innings of work. Richardson cleaned up from there by putting away two of the three batters he faced.

The Knights entered the game with an overall earned run average of 2.80, 200 strikeouts and a .978 fielding percentage as a team. They did not disappoint in either category.

“Compared to last year our pitching staff is a complete turnaround,” Sweeney noted. “We get guys that come out and throw up zeros, throw strikes from the beginning and get you ground balls. It’s a great feeling playing behind guys that can keep you in the game like that.”

UCF and Stetson were facing off against each other as ranked opponents for the first time since 2001. The win pushed the Knights’ record against ranked teams to 4-2 on the season.

But there’s still plenty of baseball to be played and not a lot of time to relish in the new-found attention that comes from being ranked in the Top 25.

“We’ve got to get better everyday and make sure that we show the world that we’re capable of being ranked for the rest of the season,” said Sweeney.

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Brian Adkins tossed three scoreless innings of relief and Joe Rogers pitched a perfect ninth to deliver a 5-4 victory on the road against No. 23 Rice on Sunday. Combined with a 7-2 triumph on Friday, the Knights (18-6, 2-1) posted their first series win over the Owls (16-11, 1-2). Next up for UCF is a home-and-home against No. 28 Stetson beginning Tuesday in Orlando.

“That was a tremendous team effort for the entire weekend,” said head coach Terry Rooney. “We call every Sunday ‘Championship Sunday.’ Regardless of the first two days, Sunday is always the most important game of the series. For today’s game, all you have to do is look at the back-and-forth of the score, and then to see us hold on late on the road certainly speaks volumes about the confidence and presence of our team.”

It was the first time UCF won its C-USA opening series since 2006 when it took two of three against Marshall. Dating back to last year, the Knights have now claimed the series in each of their last two C-USA road trips (also defeated Tulane in New Orleans to end the 2010 campaign).

Adkins entered in the fourth inning in a bases-loaded jam with Rice leading 3-2 and proceeded to shut down the Owls. The lefty, who had only started midweek games until Sunday, moved his record to 4-1 after allowing just three hits.

“Basically I was just trying to fill up the zone, and once again the defense played great behind me,” said Adkins. “My mindset was a little bit different coming out of the pen. But in each individual inning I was trying to close out the game. Each inning was its own entity for me, so I was just trying to go hitter by hitter.”

Adkins gave way to Rogers in the seventh, who picked up his fifth save of the year, highlighted by retiring hitters two, three and four in the ninth.

“I was mentally prepared in the bullpen when I saw how well Brian pitched,” said Rogers. “It was cool how (facing potential No. 1 MLB pick Anthony Rendon in the ninth) was drawn up. I wanted to go after Rendon because he is potentially a high-draft pick, so I threw him a two-seamer and I guess it just tailed on him and he hit it to Darnell Sweeney at short. He made a great play to end it. And Beau Taylor did an excellent job behind the plate for me.”

Jonathan Griffin banged out three hits. Ronnie Richardson reached base four times with two hits and a pair of walks, and D.J. Hicks and Erik Hempe also rapped out two hits.

The Knights led 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, where Rice posted three runs against Ray Hanson. Three more runs over the course of the fifth and sixth innings put UCF up 5-3 before the Owls posted a run in the eighth.

Rice won the second game of the series 6-2 on Saturday.

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– Men’s College Lacrosse – Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Rollins 12

Despite a program record six goals in one game by junior Austin Ricci the Rollins Tars dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the Deep South Conference on Sunday. It’s the first-ever conference win for Lenoir-Rhyne, who broke an 11-all tie with under eight minutes to play to take the lead for good.

– College Softball – UAB 5, UCF 3

The Knights allowed five runs in the third inning and never recovered as they dropped to 12-22 overall and 3-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers (24-9, 8-1 C-USA) took two of three games after splitting with UCF on Saturday.

= SATURDAY, March 26, 2011

– Arena Football League – Predators 68, Blaze 53

Orlando Predators quarterback Nick Hill went 24-of-36 for 331 yards and eight touchdowns while Rayshaun Kizer intercepted three passes and ran one back for a score Saturday night. The Predators (2-0) downed the Utah Blaze (1-1) in its first game at the new Amway Center in front of 12,186 fans.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Freshman Dominique Booker set two new school records on Saturday during the second day of competition at the UCF Invitational. Booker set a new mark in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.70, good for fourth place and enough to surpass the previous mark set by Sonnisha Williams (23.79) just last week. Booker also joined Aurieyall Scott, Sheila Paul and Tyler Smith in the 4×400-meter relay, where the group took first place with a time of 43.73 (previous mark was 45.05).

– United Soccer Leagues – Lions 2, USF 0

The Orlando City Lions wrapped up its preseason schedule Saturday in Tampa, where they got goals from Yordany Alvarez (30th minute) and Jamie Watson (60th) on assists from Devorn Jorsling in the win. The Lions finished the preseason schdule 6-2 with wins over Philadelphia Union (1-0) and Toronto FC (1-0) of Major League Soccer as well as Rollins (3-1), UCF (5-1) and Stetson (5-3). Orlando City lost to FC Dallas (1-0) and BK Hacken (3-2). The reguler season begins this weekend on the road against Richmond.

– Men’s College Tennis – UCF 4, NO. 53 DePaul 3

Facing their seventh nationally-ranked opponent in a row, the Knights clinched the win over DePaul when freshman Mitch Thams won the final two sets of a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 match against Filip Dzanko at No. 5 singles.

= FRIDAY, March 25, 2011

– College Baseball – UCF 7, No. 23 Rice 2

Despite a school-record eight walks, freshman Ben Lively improved to 5-0 on the season while D.J. Hicks went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched a scoreless inning in UCF’s Conference USA opener at Rice (15-10, 0-1 C-USA). Lively is the first pitcher at UCF to start the season perfect in five games since Ray Rodriguez and Darren Newlin did so in 2005. Joe Rogers picked up the save. The Knights trailed 2-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the top of the fifth. UCF turned a season-high four double plays in the win and improved to 17-5 overall and 1-0 in C-USA.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Sophomore Sonnisha Williams broke her own school record in the long jump by five-and-a-half inches to take first place in the event during the opening day of the UCF Invitational. Williams went 20-11.75/6.39m at the UCF Track and Field Complex to best the previous mark of 20-6.25/6.25m set last May at the NCAA East Regional. Competition picks back up on Saturday with Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tennessee and Rhode Island taking part.

– National Basketball Association – Magic 95, Nets 85

The Magic won its fifth game in a row after pulling away from New Jersey with just over eight minutes to play in the fouth quarter. Hedo Turkoglu went 8-for-11 from the field for 20 points, 13 assists and no turnovers in the win while Dwight Howard finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Already playing without J.J. Redick, Orlando (47-26) lost Jameer Nelson to a knee injury in the first half.

– College Softball – Rollins 10, Lynn 0

The Tars improved to 30-1 overall and 7-0 in the Sunshine State Conference in the opening game of its series against Lynn (6-26, 1-6 SSC). Rollins scored eight runs in the second inning as Krista Rodden, Lake Mary alum Hope Bitzer, Winter Springs alum Christine Roser and Hilary Brown drove in runs. Kristen Frame, the reigning confernce player of the week, struck out six in five innings.

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The UCF men’s basketball season come to a close against Creighton on Wednesday in the College Basketball Invitational semis in Omaha, Nebraska. The Knights fell 82-64, finishing the season 21-12 overall.

The game capped an unusually hectic day for the Knights. The team was unable to leave Orlando until 9 a.m. the day of the game, arriving via charter plane around 2:30 p.m. local time. UCF typically travels the day before games.

The Bluejays (22-14), who improved to 18-3 at home this season, raced out to a 15-5 lead and never looked back. The hosts shot 56.7 percent overall and 50.0 percent (5-of-10) from 3-point range in the opening half while forcing 13 UCF turnovers. The Knights trailed 44-23 at halftime.

UCF finished the season with at least 20 wins for just the sixth time since joining the Division I ranks in 1984. Under new head coach Donnie Jones, UCF posted non-league wins over No. 16 Florida, Miami and USF, and entered the national rankings for the first time in school history.

In Omaha, the Knights were led by sophomore Keith Clanton, who scored a game-high 26 points. UCF shot 48.9 percent, but made just 2-of-16 (12.5 percent) of its 3-point attempts.

Creighton shot 57.7 percent from the floor for the game, and 46.7 percent from deep. Gregory Echenique led the hosts with 19 points.

“Give credit to Creighton. They are a very good basketball team,” Jones said. “They were aggressive and played with an edge. Our kids kept competing. This tournament is about the future as much as it is about the now. There were a lot of positives from playing in this tournament.”

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UCF junior Jackie Coward was named the 2011 Conference USA Indoor Female Track Athlete of the Year by league coaches this week, becoming the first Knight in program history to earn the award.

Coward

For the second time in her career, Coward was a USTFCCA All-American in the 60-meter hurdles after finishing third at the NCAA Championship Meet at Texas A&M in mid-March. She tied her own school record in the event with an 8.06 in the finals to earn the third-place finish. She also clocked in at that same time in February.

Coward was also an All-American in the indoor 60-meter hurdles in 2009, and in the outdoor season last year in the 100-meter hurdles in which she placed fifth.

Helping UCF to its first-ever C-USA Indoor Championship, Coward won the 60-meter hurdles and set a meet record with an 8.15 in the preliminaries before running an 8.16 in the finals. She was also part of the Knights’ 4×400 relay team that captured first at the conference championship meet in Houston with a time of 3:43.19.

Currently in the outdoor season, the Knights will return to the track this weekend as they host the UCF Invitational. The meet will be held at the UCF Track and Field Complex beginning on Friday at 2 p.m. and will run through Saturday.

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