Hustle points: News & Notes

Athletics releases spring, summer important dates

 On Monday, UCF Athletics released some key dates for the months to come for the football program. The spring football game is set for Saturday, April 14 at Bright House Networks Stadium. Starting Tuesday, March 13, the Knights will have 15 spring practices at their practice fields adjacent to the stadium. UCF will have practices every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday that are open to fans.

   The Knights will start their preseason camp on Aug. 1, and the 2012 season kicks off on the road at Akron on Aug. 30, in a Thursday night matchup.

 Coward recognized as Athlete of the Week

For the third time in four weeks, a Knight has been recognized as the Conference USA Track and Field Female Athlete of the Week. This time it was reigning C-USA Track Athlete of the Year senior sprinter Jackie Coward. The honor was bestowed following Coward's performance at the New Balance Invitational in New York, where she posted a season-best time of 8.09 in the 60-yard hurdles, automatically qualifying her for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

Cromwell announces 2012 recruiting class

The UCF Knights women's soccer team inked four players to its 2012 recruiting class. Coach Amanda Cromwell's new recruits include three players from Florida and one from Canada. The class includes Kaitlyn Steckel, a forward from Tampa, Taylor Townsend, a midfielder from Jensen Beach, Amanda Wilkin, a midfielder from Merritt Island and Maxine Murchie, a midfielder from Ontario, Canada. Cromwell praised the class, saying in a release, "All four are attacking-minded players who can put the ball in the back of the net or set someone else up with an assist."

Season set to get underway in Clermont

The UCF Knights softball team will take the field for the first time in 2012 on Friday in Clermont as part of the National Collegiate Softball Invitational. The event will see the Knights play four games in two days, starting with a double-header on Friday against Ohio State (11 a.m.) and then FAMU (5 p.m.). UCF will battle another in-state opponent on Saturday when they take on Bethune Cookman (3 p.m.) before finishing up the Invitational against Chattanooga (5 p.m.).

Former UCF star arrested in Houston

Former Knights star and Houston Dynamo player Warren Creavalle was arrested late Saturday night following an altercation outside a bar, the Houston Chronicle reports. Creavalle was arrested on a charge of interfering with public duties alongside teammate Tyler Deric, who was arrested for assaulting a public servant. Deric has been accused of assaulting an off-duty police officer working security at the bar. Deric's lawyer says the backup goalkeeper took issue when his African-American teammates were not allowed inside, stating, "Mr. Deric was with other soccer players, some who were African-Americans. The club did not want them coming in. … He's not guilty of assaulting that off-duty officer."