Jan. 24, 2008
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (www.ucfathletics.com) - UCF's season-opener was spoiled by No. 4 Florida Thursday in Gainesville, as the Gators defeated the Knights, 7-0, at the Ring Tennis Complex. The match for the Black and Gold (0-1) began a string of 10-straight contests against programs from the Sunshine State.
Florida (2-0) kicked off the afternoon with three victories in doubles for the first overall point. UF's Julia Cohen and Lolita Frangulyan earned the first win by defeating senior Anna Yakimchenkova and junior Kenza Belbacha at No. 3, 8-0, and Megan Alexander and Marrit Boonstra secured the 1-0 lead by defeating senior Kyla McNicol and freshman Jenny Frisell at No. 1, 8-3. The Gators completed the sweep when Whitney Benik and Csilla Borsanyi edged senior Jennifer Carati and junior Elvira Serrot, 8-5, at the No. 2 spot.
UF took its momentum into singles action, where Borsanyi, who was ranked No. 59 in the nation, added the second point with a 6-0, 6-0 triumph over McNicol at No. 2. Boonstra also posted a 6-0, 6-0 win, defeating freshman Isa Ohlinger at No. 5. Frangulyan locked up the overall victory for the Gators when she got past Carati at No. 6, 6-1, 6-1.
Benik made it 5-0 for UF by way of a 6-2, 6-2 victory against Frisell in the No. 3 position on the lineup card, while Cohen picked up the win at No. 1 with a 6-1, 6-1 performance against Serrot.
At No. 4, Yakimchenkova proved to be a tough task for Alexander, who entered the day as the Gators' highest ranked player at No. 37 in the country. After falling in the first set, 6-3, Yakimchenkova pushed Alexander to 4-4 in the second before Alexander broke serve and held on for the win.
UCF's home season begins Feb. 3 when the women join the men for a doubleheader at the UCF Tennis Complex. The women face off with Florida Gulf Coast at 9:30 a.m. while the men tangle with the Eagles as well at noon.
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