JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (UCFKnights.com)—The UCF women's tennis team won three three-set matches to defeat the University of North Florida, 5-2, on Wednesday evening at the UNF Tennis Complex.
"I'm really proud of the way we fought today," said head coach Bryan Koniecko. "We knew it was going to be a war against UNF and sure enough it was. It was great to see us come out on top in all three of those (three-set) matches, in a stressful situation on the road."
The Knights (7-1 overall) grabbed the doubles point with 6-4 wins on both court 1 and 2. On the top court, Cortney Cesarini and Monica Matias defeated Quetzali Vazquez and Lucia Montano. Emilia Granstrom and
Natalia Serrano extended their winning streak to 8-0 with a victory over Rafaela Gomez and Luise Intert.
In singles, Matias added the second point for the Knights with a 6-1, 6-1 win against Vazquez. Serrano earned a 6-4 win in the first set against nationally ranked No. 83 Michelle Valdez, before dropping the second set, 6-2. Serrano fought back and earned a decisive 6-1 victory to put UCF up 3-2.
Elizabeth Bagerbaseh clinched the match for the Knights after dropping the first set 6-2 to Kinga Gartner. The London, England native fought back and won the second set, 6-4. The junior clinched the match with a 6-2 third-set victory.
Cesarini added the final win for the Black and Gold as she defeated Intert in three sets. The senior won the first set, 6-4, but dropped the second 6-4. The Lower Gwynedd, Penn., native went game for game with Intert before heading to a third-set tiebreaker. Cesarini won the tiebreaker, 7-2, to complete play.
The Knights return to the USTA National Campus on Friday to face Florida Gulf Coast at 1 p.m.
FULL RESULTS
Singles competition
1. Natalia Serrano (UCF-W) def. #83 Michelle Valdez (UNF) 6-4, 2-6, 6-1
2. Monica Matias (UCF-W) def. Quetzali Vazquez (UNF) 6-1, 6-1
3. Rafaela Gomez (UNF) def. Emilia Granstrom (UCF-W) 6-2, 6-3
4. Cortney Cesarini (UCF-W) def. Luise Intert (UNF) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7-2)
5. Elizabeth Bagerbaseh (UCF-W) def. Kinga Gartner (UNF) 2-6, 6-4, 6-2
6. I Karangozishvili (UNF) def. Nicole Jimenez (UCF-W) 6-2, 6-2
Doubles competition
1. Cortney Cesarini/Monica Matias (UCF-W) def. Quetzali Vazquez/Lucia Montano (UNF) 6-4
2. Natalia Serrano/Emilia Granstrom (UCF-W) def. Rafaela Gomez/Luise Intert (UNF) 6-4
3. Michelle Valdez/I Karangozishvili (UNF) def. Nicole Jimenez/Elizabeth Bagerbaseh (UCF-W) 6-4
