RALEIGH, North Carolina - Primed for the program’s 10th NCAA Tournament appearance, the No. 19 UCF women’s tennis team will face third-seeded Furman in the first round of the NC State regional Friday at 1 p.m. at the J.W. Isenhour Tennis Center.
The Knights hold a 6-6 record in tournament matches under director of tennis and head coach Bryan Koniecko, securing a bid back into the dance after a historic 2025 campaign to date.
The Wolfpack serves as the nation’s 12th seed and will face Charleston Southern following the conclusion of UCF’s duel with Furman. The winner of each match will meet on Saturday at 5 p.m. for a spot in the last 16.
Our 10th NCAA Tournament selection in program history ⚔️
— UCF Women's Tennis (@UCF_WTennis) April 28, 2025
✈️ Raleigh bound pic.twitter.com/7xYL2IzilN
LAST TIME OUT
After claiming a share of the Big 12 regular-season title, the Black and Gold backed it up with a strong run to the finals of the tournament, besting No. 17 Oklahoma State en route to a difficult championship duel with No. 15 Texas Tech, eventually falling to the Red Raiders 4-2.
Their second win against the Cowgirls in the semifinals will go down as one of the more dramatic contests in program history. Olivia Lincer battled back down 4-1 in the court-one deciding third set to push the bout to four-all, before fending off four match points down 5-4, eventually securing the clinching point in the tiebreaker, 7-3.
CARDIAC KNIGHTS GET IT DONE IN WACO 😤 pic.twitter.com/z39hxrt8JT
— UCF Women's Tennis (@UCF_WTennis) April 19, 2025
QUICK HITS
- Five Knights took home a total of 10 Big 12 season awards and honors, announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon. Lincer headlined the announcement, securing Big 12 Player of the Year after a dominating court-one campaign. The 2024 Freshman of the Year honoree becomes the fourth Knight in program history to secure a conference ‘Player of the Year’ award and the first in the Big 12.
- Lincer was joined on the All-Big 12 Singles First Team by teammates Sophia Biolay and Aya El Aouni. The latter and Olivia Bergler each landed on the All-Big 12 Freshman Team, while Lincer and Hannah Rylatt (first team) and Biolay and El Aouni (second team) featured on the All-Big 12 doubles lineup.
- UCF has continued to be dominant on the front three courts, boasting a combined record of 50-7. As a team, the Knights have yet to lose a match after securing court one, while losing just four when claiming courts two and three.
- The sixth NCAA Tournament appearance under Koniecko, UCF returns to the field for the fourth time in five years. In 2019 and 2021, the Knights advanced to the round of 16 for the first and second occasions in program history, winning regionals in Tallahassee (2019) and Orlando (2021).
The Big 12’s best resides in Orlando 🏆
— UCF Women's Tennis (@UCF_WTennis) April 30, 2025
Liv has been named Player of the Year following a dominating sophomore campaign‼️ pic.twitter.com/okI08wtD4q
THE OPPONENTS
Furman (Third Seed) - Friday at 1 p.m.
The Paladins (21-3) earned a third seed for the fifth time in program history and enter the Raleigh Regional after winning both the Southern Conference regular season and tournament titles. Furman and UCF have eight all-time meetings to precede Friday’s bout, with the first matchup dating back to 1988. The Knights took the last meeting between the two schools in 2021, securing a 4-3 triumph in a contested ranked duel.
Furman matches UCF’s 19-1 record on court three this season, as Jess Dawson and Marissa Pennings have each tallied eight wins to their name on the court. Sara Snyder leads the lineup with an impressive 13-7 record on the front court. The Paladins put in a strong display in doubles, tallying a combined 47-15 record.
NC State (First Seed) - vs. Charleston Southern | Friday at 4 p.m.
An eye-catching ninth consecutive regional hosted by the Wolfpack provides a strong test for the Knights if a second-round meeting were to occur. A perfect 11-0 at home this season, NC State (17-6) boasts six ranked singles players and a pair of ranked doubles tandems. UCF last traveled to Raleigh in 2021 for the ITA Kickoff Weekend.
Charleston Southern (Fourth Seed) - at NC State | Friday at 4 p.m.
The Big South tournament champions dominated its conference, dropping just five points across seven contests. The Buccaneers possess a strong singles lineup, having gone a combined 37-8 record on courts two through four.