ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 23 UCF women’s tennis team had one player and one coach announced in the ITA’s NCAA Division I Regional Awards per their release on Saturday. Redshirt sophomore Valeriya Zeleva was recognized as the Southeast region ITA Player to Watch while assistant coach Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar was named the ITA Assistant Coach of the Year.
UCF’s regional winners will compete with the winners from the other 11 regions for the right to be a national winner in their respective category. The national winners will be announced tomorrow evening.
Zeleva has put on a show this season, dueling against the best of the best in singles and in doubles at the number one spot this season. She sits at No. 40 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings and pairs up with Ksenia Kuznetsova in the doubles rankings at No. 26.
With a record of 18-6 in singles, Zeleva often competed with other ranked opponents, notching 10 wins against the top-125 players in college tennis. As for doubles, Zeleva and Kuznetsova went 14-5 at the top spot, earning three victories against ranked opponents. Zeleva will have a chance for many more people to watch her as she will take part in the NCAA Singles and Doubles championships beginning on Monday. She was not only a player that everyone watched this season, but will certainly turn many more heads next season in her junior campaign.
Assistant coach Sanchez-Quintanar has been named the southeast region’s Assistant Coach of the Year by the ITA for the first time in her career. Sanchez-Quintanar helped guide the Knights to their best season in program history alongside head coach Bryan Koniecko. The pair completed their third season together and have posted a record of 57-18.
UP NEXT
Zeleva will be participating in the NCAA Singles Championships and will pair up with Kuznetsova for the NCAA Doubles Championships on Monday.
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