ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After a record-setting regular season, the No. 22 UCF women's tennis team earned an at-large bid for the NCAA Championships Tuesday. The Knights are a No. 2 seed in the Coral Gables Regional and will face third-seeded FIU in the opening round May 11 at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center.
"We've been talking about it all week -- what it means to be apart of such a prestigious tournament," said head coach Bryan Koniecko. "You got the best 64 teams in there and it's been a while for UCF. For the players we have on this team and for all the alumni, it's for them. We're making sure we're taking this program in the right direction."
This will be the fifth NCAA Tournament appearance -- and first at-large bid -- for UCF (19-4, 5-1 The American). The Knights, earning the program's first berth since 2002, will be looking to advance past the opening round of the 64-team field for the first time when they challenge the Panthers.
FIU (17-2, 6-0 C-USA) finished the year on a seven-match winning streak, capturing the Conference USA title with a 5-0 win over Middle Tennessee. The Panthers feature Andrea Lazaro, ranked No. 10 in ITA singles, and Ulyana Grib and Maryna Veksler, who hold the No. 19 spot in doubles. UCF earned a 4-1 victory over FIU on March 30.
Also in the Knights' region, Miami will host LIU Brooklyn in Coral Gables.
"It's never easy to beat a team twice in a year," said Koniecko. "We know FIU is going to make some adjustments from our previous match. [They're] a little closer to Miami, a little closer to home for them, so it's going to be a challenge and we'll have to play really well."
The Black and Gold are coming off one of the best seasons in school history -- a year where they reached a school-record high of No. 19 in the Oracle/ITA team rankings.
The Knights earned seven wins this season versus teams currently ranked inside the top 50, including wins over fellow NCAA Tournament teams South Carolina, Baylor, Michigan, Clemson, FIU, Rice and Wichita St.
This season's success parlayed UCF into the No. 1 seed in the American Athletic Conference Tournament in Dallas, Texas. The Knights opened up the tournament with a 4-1 victory over Tulane in the quarterfinals, before falling to host SMU in the semifinals.
Stay tuned for more information throughout the week, with the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championship brackets being released Wednesday.
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