As the threat of the coronavirus grows, sports leagues and conferences around the country are taking preventative measures to stem the spread of the infection. On Thursday, American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco that all spring sports are suspended “until further notice,” the conference announced via a press release Sunday.
Per UCF Athletics, its teams are allowed to hold practices and team activities, but they cannot travel or participate in competitions.
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The eighth-seeded UCF men’s basketball team was slated to play the No. 9 USF Bulls Thursday at 1 p.m., but all conference tournaments have been cancelled. UCF finished the 2019-20 season 16-14 overall, 7-11 in AAC play. The Knights ended their season on a two-game winning streak, beating the SMU Mustangs 61-58 on March 4 and subsequently the ECU Pirates 94-62 on March 8.
As for the women, they played their conference tournament already. Under Head Coach Katie Abrahamson-Henderson, the second-seeded Knights advanced to the semifinals and lost to the No. 3 Cincinnati Bearcats 57-51.
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UCF’s baseball team was in the midst of one of its best seasons ever. Through 18 games, the Knights amassed a 15-3 record, including a weekend-series sweep of then-No. 8 Auburn University. The Knights were 11-3 at home and 4-0 on the road. Their last game of the season was a 3-2 loss to the No. 7 Miami Hurricanes on March 11.
The Knights’ softball team was having a historically strong season, too. UCF amassed a 21-5-1 record, going 12-3-0 at home, 3-1-0 on the road and 6-1-1 at neutral sites. The Knights won their last two games of the season, beating California State University, Fullerton, and California State University, Northridge, 7-0 each.
Against ranked teams, the Knights finished 3-3-1. UCF beat the then-No. 12 Tennessee Volunteers 10-1 and 9-1 in back-to-back games on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22. The Knights also beat the then-No. 16 Michigan Wolverines 3-2 before losing to the No. 1 UCLA Bruins 4-2 in the same day on March 6.
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Other leagues and associations have proactively suspended play, too. The National Basketball Association has suspended its season indefinitely, as Commission Adam Silver said the league will not play for at least 30 days. Additionally, the NCAA Tournament for both men’s and women’s basketballs have been altogether cancelled.
For more on the Knights and other Orlando sports, as the city, the country and the world continue to react to the coronavirus, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor for tips and/or memes (happy to send or receive), you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
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[…] American Athletic Conference initially suspended spring sports on March 12 before completely cancelling all sports on March 16. The UCF Knights’ baseball […]
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