DALLAS, TX. (UCFKnights.com) - The top seeded UCF women's tennis team advanced to the semifinals of the American Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time Thursday. The Knights (19-3, 5-1) were 4-1 winners over Tulane in their quarterfinal matchup at the SMU Tennis Complex, setting up a showdown with the host Mustangs, Friday at 4 p.m.
"It was great to get a win under the belt for the team here and advance," said Bryan Koniecko, UCF head coach. "It's about doing everything you can to get to four points and we were able to do that. We will need to give our best effort tomorrow to have a chance to advance."
The Black and Gold set the tempo early in doubles play and never looked back. Monica Matias and Natalia Serrano zoomed to a 6-1 win at No. 3 over Daniela La Fuente and Sofia Kurtz. The clincher came at No. 1, with the No. 47 nationally ranked duo Maria Martinez and Ksenia Kuznetsova also winning 6-1 to put the Knights on the board.
Singles play began with a dominant performance at No. 4 by senior Monica Matias. The Puerto Rican native was a 6-4, 6-2 winner over La Fuente to put the Knights up 2-0.
Minutes later, Ksenia Kuznetsova followed suit with a straight sets win at No. 2. The freshman made it 3-0 UCF with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Laura Fabrizi.
After a win by Tulane at No. 5, the Knights clinched a spot in the semifinals when Rebeka Stolmar used a gritty first set to get past Ivone Alvaro at No. 3. The freshman earned her team leading 19th singles win of the year with a 7-5, 6-0 final.
The attention now shifts to SMU, who the Knights defeated 6-1 earlier this season in Dallas, Feb. 9. The Mustangs defeated USF, 4-2 Thursday to set the stage for the 4 p.m. showdown Friday and a chance to play in Saturday's final.
Kuznetsova, Martinez, Stolmar, Matias, and Bordes all earned singles wins versus SMU and the pairs of Martinez/Kuznetsova and Bordes/Stolmar were victorious in doubles. The Mustangs are led by Ana Perez-Lopez, who has 21 total tour and dual match singles wins this season.
Remaining Schedule
Friday, April 20 | Semifinals
- Match 9: UCF vs. SMU
3 p.m. CT | TBD
Live Scoring - Match 10: No. 6 Houston / No. 3 Wichita State vs. No. 7 Memphis / No. 2 Tulsa winner
3 p.m. CT | TBD
Live Scoring
Saturday, April 21 | Final
- Match 11: Semifinal winners
3 p.m. CT | Turpin Stadium
American Digital Network
Live Scoring
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