ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 30 UCF women’s tennis team defeated the No. 40 Denver Pioneers by a score of 5-2 on Saturday afternoon.
The Knights have won six matches in a row. UCF has not lost on home court yet, as this is their fifth win in as many matches. The Black and Gold pull to an even 2-2 on the season against ranked teams.
“We knew it was going to be a battle out here today,” said head coach Bryan Koniecko, “We played a great doubles point, we put ourselves in a position to get things going. I think we played really well in the first portion of doubles, and then Denver showed the type of team they are, they pushed back and fought hard in second sets when they were down. A couple courts went down today but overall I think we did a great job closing as a team.”
Doubles play saw duos on court two and three pull into a lead rather quickly. The first court to finish was court two, where Rebeka Stolmar and Marie Mattel defeated Tatum Burger and Anna Riedmiller 6-1. Within 20 seconds, court three clinched the doubles point as Natalia Serrano and Nandini Sharma took down Arisha Ladhani and Toni Nelson 6-1. Court one’s match went unfinished as No. 22 Valeriya Zeleva and Ksenia Kuznetsova were tied 3-3 against Bianca Mok and Camille Verden-Anderson.
UCF got their first singles point on the board in a hurry. Serrano bested Nelson 6-0, 6-1 on court six. Serrano moves to 5-1 on the season and has won four consecutive matches.
Stolmar was next to finish, as she downed No. 114 Ladhani 6-2, 6-2 on court three. The win was Stolmar’s second over a ranked opponent and her fifth win in a row.
The clincher came on court five as Sharma stayed on a roll, taking down Verden-Anderson 6-3, 6-1. Sharma moves to 8-1 on the season with the victory and has a winning streak of six matches.
With the match already decided, Denver got a few points back. No. 29 Zeleva was edged by No. 91 Mok 0-6, 6-0, 7-6 (7-2) on court one. The Pioneers added their final point on court four where Burger defeated No. 119 Mattel 2-6, 6-3, 6-3.
Kuznetsova would give their final point of the match as she triumphed over Riedmiller 7-6 (7-3), 6-4. The win puts Kuznetsova at 5-2 at the number two position to this point in the season.
UP NEXT
No. 30 UCF will take on an in-state rival in the No. 48 Florida Gators tomorrow for College MatchDay. The match gets under way at 5:30 p.m. Be sure to claim your free ticket below. The match will televised on the Tennis Channel for those who are unable to attend.
COLLEGE MATCHDAY
Tomorrow is College MatchDay! Don’t miss the opportunity to see the No. 30 Knights battle the No. 48 Florida Gators. Click here to claim your free ticket for the match.
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