Sept. 14, 2006
ORLANDO - For the second-straight season, the UCF women's tennis team kicks off the fall campaign at the Thomasville Intercollegiate Invitational in Thomasville, Ga. Junior Anna Yakimchenkova (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla./American School) and sophomore Elvira Serrot (Madrid, Spain) will compete alongside schools such as Clemson and West Florida Friday through Sunday at what was voted as the "2005 Georgia Tournament of the Year."
Yakimchenkova and Serrot were members of a 2005-06 squad that finished the dual-match season at 12-9 during UCF's first year in Conference USA. They will start the 2006 fall schedule this weekend and face opponents from Clemson, West Florida, Georgia State, Valdosta State, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, Tennessee Tech and Auburn (at Mongtomery).
Yakimchenkova had a team-best 33-18 combined record a year ago with a 19-9 mark in singles matches. She shared the Flight B Championship with current senior Becky Gordon (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain HS), at the Varner Memorial and reached the Flight B finals at the ITA Southern Regional.
Serrot went 22-23 as a freshman with a 9-9 record at No. 2 singles. She demonstrated a lot of mental toughness early on, posting a come-from-behind three-set victory for her first collegiate win in the 2005 ITA Southern Regional (Georgia Tech's Kacie Anson, 2-6, 6-0, 6-0). Serrot then duplicated that feat to begin the spring season, defeating Molly Maddox of Georgia Southern, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3.
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