ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the second straight week, the UCF women's tennis team needed all seven points to decide its match, but the Knights could not complete the comeback against Alabama, falling 4-3 on Friday night at the USTA National Campus.
"We knew it was going to be another war for us," head coach Bryan Koniecko said. "They've always been a good team historically, and they know how to win. It was a great college match to be a part of. The doubles point came down to two tiebreakers. We were able to sneak that out. Credit to Alabama for battling back in singles.
"For us, it's another match and learning opportunity. We have an incredibly young team that just played their third college match. They're going to learn that we have a lot of room to get better, which is a positive thing."
For the second time this season, the Knights (2-1) needed all three doubles matches to take the opening point. After Ksenia Kuznetsova and Maria Martinez dropped their contest 6-4 to Ann Selim and Andie Daniell, the Black and Gold were forced into a pair of tiebreaks at No. 2 and 3.
The reigning American Athletic Player of the Week Rebeka Stolmar and partner Silvia Bordes edged Jacqueline Pelletier and Smith Hinton, 7-6 (6) to tie the doubles portion. The rookies set up veteran duo Monica Matias and Natalia Serrano at No. 2 for the deciding match.
The experienced pairing squeaked out a 10-8 victory in the tiebreak over Luca Fabien and Alba Cortina-Pou and put the Knights ahead going into singles.
The Crimson Tide (5-0) responded in singles action. At No. 1, Daniell defeated Kuznetsova in straight sets, before Selim topped Serrano at No. 5 to put Alabama ahead 2-1.
Matias stepped up and brought the Knights level with a straight-sets victory over Fabian, 7-6 (5), 6-2, at No. 4.
After Smith Hinton gave the Tide another lead with a three-set win over Martinez, Stolmar climbed back from a set down to win 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, over Kylie Moulin to put the deciding point at No. 6 singles.
Bordes split the opening two frames against Cortina-Pou, but could not keep up the momentum in the final set, falling 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
The Knights will return to the USTA National Campus on Sunday, Feb. 4 for a doubleheader against Troy and North Florida.
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the second straight week, the UCF women's tennis team needed all seven points to decide its match, but the Knights could not complete the comeback against Alabama, falling 4-3 on Friday night at the USTA National Campus.
"We knew it was going to be another war for us," head coach Bryan Koniecko said. "They've always been a good team historically, and they know how to win. It was a great college match to be a part of. The doubles point came down to two tiebreakers. We were able to sneak that out. Credit to Alabama for battling back in singles.
"For us, it's another match and learning opportunity. We have an incredibly young team that just played their third college match. They're going to learn that we have a lot of room to get better, which is a positive thing."
For the second time this season, the Knights (2-1) needed all three doubles matches to take the opening point. After Ksenia Kuznetsova and Maria Martinez dropped their contest 6-4 to Ann Selim and Andie Daniell, the Black and Gold were forced into a pair of tiebreaks at No. 2 and 3.
The reigning American Athletic Player of the Week Rebeka Stolmar and partner Sylvia Bordes edged Jacqueline Pelletier and Smith Hinton, 7-6 (6) to tie the doubles portion. The rookies set up veteran duo Monica Matias and Natalia Serrano at No. 2 for the deciding match.
The experienced pairing squeaked out a 10-8 victory in the tiebreak over Luca Fabien and Alba Cortina-Pou and put the Knights ahead going into singles.
The Crimson Tide (5-0) responded in singles action. At No. 1, Daniell defeated Kuznetsova in straight sets, before Selim topped Serrano at No. 5 to put Alabama ahead 2-1.
Matias stepped up and brought the Knights level with a straight-sets victory over Fabian, 7-6 (5), 6-2, at No. 4.
After Smith Hinton gave the Tide another lead with a three-set win over Martinez, Stolmar climbed back from a set down to win 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-2, over Kylie Moulin to put the deciding point at No. 6 singles.
Bordes split the opening two frames against Cortina-Pou, but could not keep up the momentum in the final set, falling 4-6, 7-5, 6-1.
The Knights will return to the USTA National Campus on Sunday, Feb. 4 for a doubleheader against Troy and North Florida.
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