ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's tennis team opened its 2018 campaign with a gritty and exhilarating come-from-behind 4-3 victory over No. 15 South Carolina on Friday night. After taking the opening doubles point, the Knights (1-0) had to rely on Natalia Serrano and Rebeka Stolmar at No. 6 and 4 singles, respectively, to pull off the upset.
"We knew it was going to be a tough match," head coach Bryan Koniecko said. "We had been preparing for South Carolina for a long time. We have so much respect for their program. I've coached against them before, and I know they're going to bring it in every single match. Our players knew it was going to be a dogfight. It was awesome to see the resilience from a young team. It's a start for us."
BACKS AGAINST THE WALL
After the Knights took a 2-0 lead, the Gamecocks (0-1) responded with three straight points at No. 1, 2 and 3 singles. South Carolina appeared to be on its way to the win when Megan Davis had a 5-1 advantage over Stolmar in the third set, but the Hungarian international rebounded.
Stolmar, in her first competitive match for the Knights, won six consecutive games to take the bout 1-6, 6-1, 7-5.
All eyes turned to Serrano on six. The junior climbed back from a third-set deficit to clinch the match 6-2, 2-6, 7-5.
"We knew it was going to be tough going against a ranked opponent," Serrano said. "It was awesome to get the win. Once we saw it was down to only two matches, Rebeka's victory kept me going. I still don't have the words for it. It was awesome."
DEBUT IN DOUBLES
At the start of the match, UCF fielded just two players with collegiate experience in Serrano and Monica Matias at No. 3 doubles. Stolmar, Silvia Bordes, Maria Martinez and Ksenia Kuznetsova stepped foot on the court for the Black and Gold for the first time.
After Bordes and Stolmar dropped their opening match to No. 33 Hadley Berg and Rachel Rohrabacher 6-3 at second doubles, Matias and Serrano evened the score with a convincing 6-3 effort against No. 48 Davies and Silvia Chinellato. Kuznetsova and Martinez stepped up to edge Mia Horvit and Ingrid Martins 7-5 to clinch the opening point of the season.
In the other singles matches, Bordes earned the first solo point of the year with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Chinellato. Martinez fell to No. 43 Berg, 6-2, 6-0. Kuznetsova pushed the No. 105 ranked Horvit to the bring 7-5, 6-2. Matias kept it close with Martins, but fell 7-5, 6-3.
UP NEXT
The Knights square off with North Texas on Sunday at 11 a.m. at the USTA National Campus.
UCF 4, #15 South Carolina 3
Singles competition
1. #43 Hadley Berg (SC) def. Maria Martinez (UCF-W) 6-2, 6-0
2. #105 Mia Horvit (SC) def. Ksenia Kuznetsova (UCF-W) 7-5, 6-2
3. Ingrid Martins (SC) def. Monica Matias (UCF-W) 7-5, 6-3
4. Rebeka Stolmar (UCF-W) def. Megan Davies (SC) 1-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. Silvia Bordes (UCF-W) def. Silvia Chinellato (SC) 6-4, 6-1
6. Natalia Serrano (UCF-W) def. Nikolina Jovic (SC) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
Doubles competition
1. Ksenia Kuznetsova/Maria Martinez (UCF-W) def. Mia Horvit/Ingrid Martins (SC) 7-5
2. #33 Hadley Berg/Rachel Rohrabacher (SC) def. Silvia Bordes/Rebeka Stolmar (UCF-W) 6-3
3. Monica Matias/Natalia Serrano (UCF-W) def. #48 Silvia Chinellato/Megan Davies (SC) 6-3
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Women's Tennis on social media on Facebook (/UCF.WTennis), Twitter (UCF_WTennis) and Instagram (UCFWTennis)