ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's tennis team added another accolade to its historic season Wednesday. The Knights will send a women's doubles pair to the NCAA Championships, as Maria Martinez and Ksenia Kuznetsova qualified to compete May 23-28 at the Wake Forest Tennis Complex in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
"I'm proud of Maria and Ksenia to be able to represent UCF and our conference in the NCAA Tournament," said Bryan Koniecko, UCF head coach. "They have played great doubles all year and I know they will enjoy this experience. I believe they are playing well enough to beat anyone and they will be working to bring home a title."
The doubles competition begins after the conclusion of the team championship, which runs from May 17-22. Wake Forest University will serve as host.
Martinez and Kuznetsova clinched the automatic qualifier spot for the American Athletic Conference as the highest ranked duo in the Oracle/ITA rankings. The tandem, who currently sit at No. 61, led the Black and Gold with a 15-3 record together, playing all but one match at the No. 1 position and finished the regular season on a seven match winning streak.
They reached a season high of No. 47 in the national rankings on April 17.
The pair earned three wins over ranked opponents this season – a dominant 6-1 win over No. 14 Maryna Veksler and Ulyana Grib of FIU, a 6-3 win over No. 31 Wendy Zhang and Lindsey Hodge of Rice, and a 6-3 victory over No. 64 Fatima Bizhukova and Mara Bellucco of Wichita St.
The women's team will also compete in this year's NCAA Team Championships. The Knights will take on FIU in the opening round, May 11 in Coral Gables
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