ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women’s tennis team checks in at No. 23 in this week’s release of the ORACLE/ITA Rankings. This is one spot lower than last week’s ranking.
The Knights split their ITA Kickoff Weekend slate against a pair of ranked opponents. On Saturday, UCF matched up with the No. 20 Northwestern Wildcats and dropped a very close 4-3 decision.
Saturday’s result sent the Black and Gold to the consolation match where they drew their first conference opponent of the year. No. 23 Tulsa came into Sunday’s match having lost to No. 17 Miami on Saturday. The Knights made brilliant comeback efforts in the doubles portion of the match to take the point. Valeriya Zeleva and Ksenia Kuznetsova took down the No. 4 doubles pair in the nation to give the Knights momentum heading into singles play. UCF would defeat their first ranked opponent of the season 4-1 and end ITA Kickoff Weekend on a positive note.
UCF has a pair of starters that have gone undefeated so far. Zeleva has gone 5-0 at the No. 1 spot and has defeated a top-40 opponent already this season. Marie Mattel has also gone 5-0, seeing time at both the three and four spot in the lineup. The doubles-duo of Zeleva and Kuznetsova are also 5-0 and have been dominate to this point.
UP NEXT
The Knights will face the Baylor Bears this weekend on Sunday at noon at the UCF Collegiate Tennis Center at the USTA National Campus. Baylor has just seen their five-match winning streak snapped by No. 6 Texas. The Bears play No. 17 Miami on Friday before visiting the USTA National Campus on Sunday.
GET THE APP
Never miss any UCF Knights news from your favorite team by downloading the free UCF Knights app right to your iOS or Android phone! The app provides personalized information for men's and women's teams, scores, schedules, loyalty programs and even breaking news.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Women's Tennis on social media on Facebook (/UCF.WTennis), Twitter (UCF_WTennis) and Instagram (UCFWTennis)