ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 19 UCF women’s tennis team saw new rankings for their existing singles players and doubles pair as well as a brand-new doubles tandem in the final Oracle/ITA singles and doubles rankings release of the spring.
Valeriya Zeleva and Ksenia Kuznetsova stayed in the rankings for both singles and doubles play while Marie Mattel and Rebeka Stolmar, UCF’s No. 2 doubles pair, cracked into the doubles rankings at No. 78 to end the 2019 spring season.
Zeleva and Kuznetsova climbed five spots to finish the season ranked No. 21. The pair was the first UCF duo to earn a victory in the NCAA Doubles Championships, taking down the No. 32 pair in the nation in the first round. The top pair for the Black and Gold would fall to one of North Carolina’s nationally seeded duos in a tight sweet 16 matchup. Zeleva and Kuznetsova finish the year with an overall record of 15-6 and a 4-5 mark against nationally ranked opponents.
The newly ranked doubles tandem consisting of Mattel and Stolmar are finally getting the recognition they deserve, registering at No. 78 in the season’s final doubles ranking. The pair went 14-1 together and finished the season winning nine straight matches, the final one being over the Pepperdine’s second doubles team who were ranked No. 83 at the time. That duo sits at No. 64 in the new rankings. The last time Mattel and Stolmar lost a match together was back on February 24 against the Florida Gators for College MatchDay.
As for singles play, both Zeleva and Kuznetsova fell a few spots since they did not win a match in the NCAA Singles Championships. Zeleva was bested in the first round of the singles tournament by the nation’s No. 41 singles player in straight sets. The loss ends Zeleva’s season with a record of 18-7 and puts her at No. 48 in the Oracle/ITA singles rankings.
Kuznetsova was not selected to be a part of the NCAA Singles Championships, so her ranking was dependent on what happened to other players in the tournament. She will check in at No. 97 in the season’s final release of the rankings. Kuznetsova etched her name in third place on UCF’s single season wins list with 25 victories in the 2018-2019 season. She posted a dual match record of 15-7 and a 3-3 mark against ranked opponents.
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