ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's tennis team has found success halfway through the ITA Southeast Regional Championship in Tallahasse, Fla. In total, seven Knights are participating in the event with four of them taking part in doubles action. Two Knights have reached the quarterfinals of singles play while a one of UCF's top duos has also reached the semifinals.
Valeriya Zeleva
No. 29 Zeleva has earned her way to the quarterfinals of the main singles draw as the No. 3 seed in the tournament. She has picked up three solid Power 6 victories on her way to the Elite Eight of the event. Her most recent win was over the tournament's No. 15 seed, Sasha Hill. Zeleva will face Georgia's Lea Ma on Sunday.
Summary
Round of 64: Defeats Tsveta Dimitrova (UF) 6-3, 7-5
Round of 32: Defeats Rosie Garcia Gross (GT) 7-5, 7-6(2)
Round of 16: Defeats Sasha Hill (FSU) 6-1, 6-4
Marie Mattel
Mattel has been a force to be reckoned with so far this fall. She entered the tournament with a record of 6-3 with three of those victories coming over ranked opponents. She reached the Final Four of UCF's first tournament of the season before falling to the 2019 NCAA singles champion. Mattel picked up a statement win in this tournament on Saturday, toppling the event's top seeded No. 13 Marta Gonzalez of Georgia. Mattel is the No. 16 seed in the main draw of the current tournament and will face FSU's Emmanuelle Salas in the quarterfinals on Saturday, who is the No. 6 seed in the event.
Summary
Round of 64: Defeats Angel Carney (GSU) 6-1, 6-3
Round of 32: Defeats Yuna Ito (UM) 6-1, 6-2
Round of 16: Defeats No. 13 Marta Gonzalez (UGA) 7-5, 7-5
Ksenia Kuznetsova
No. 62 Kuznetsova was tabbed as the tournament's No. 7 seed entering play on Friday. She was able to grab a pair of victories before falling in the Sweet 16 on Saturday.
Summary
Round of 64: Defeats Basak Akbas (FIU) 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Round of 32: Defeats Petra Hule (FSU) 7-6(5), 7-5
Round of 16: Loss to Victoria Flores (GT) 6-3, 6-2
Rebeka Stolmar
No. 98 Stolmar is coming off an impressive stint at the ITA All-American Championships which saw her win the main consolation bracket. Stolmar had made her way through qualifiers in that tournament but fell in the first round of the main draw which sent her to the consolation bracket. When the event was all said and done, Stolmar had defeated five ranked opponents. As for this tournament, Stolmar fell as the No. 12 seed in the first round of the main draw but is making her way through the consolation bracket and will face Stetson's Noa Cohen in the quarterfinals
Summary
Round of 64: Loss to Gia Cohen (GT) 6-2, 6-4
Consolation Round of 32: Defeats Selma Cadar (UM) 6-3, 7-5
Consolation Round of 16: Defeats Ana Paula Melilo (UNF) via walkover
Nandini Sharma
Sharma is coming off a successful tournament at the Bedford Cup where she was the winner of the main singles flight. She was unable to find that same success in her first-round match, falling in a tight three set battle with Miami's Nada Dimovska. Sharma is working her way through the consolation bracket and will face Georgia's Meg Kowalski in the quarterfinals, who was the No. 9 seed in the main draw.
Summary
Round of 64: Loss to Nada Dimovska (UM) 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
Consolation Round of 32: Defeats Taylor Dean (KSU) 6-2, 6-2
Consolation Round of 16: Defeats Amelie Boy (USF) 6-1, 6-1
Domenika Turkovic
Turkovic was able to win a tight contest in her first taste of action in the tournament. In her second matchup of the tournament, Turkovic fell in another competitive match to the nation's No. 57 player.
Summary
Round of 64: Defeats Maeva Roquebert (MER) 6-4, 7-5
Round of 32: Loss to No. 57 Emmanuelle Salas (FSU) 6-2, 7-5
Valentina Martin
Martin was the lone Knight needing to make it through the qualifying round to reach the main draw. She was the No. 5 seed in the qualifying bracket. After a first-round bye, she wound up falling in the next round, ending her tournament.
Summary
Qualifying First Round: Bye
Qualifying Second Round: Loss to Taylor Dean (KSU) 6-1, 6-3
Stolmar/Mattel
The tandem of No. 31 Stolmar and Mattel have been dominant this fall, and that trend continues through the first few days of the ITA Southeast Regional Championship. The Knight duo is the No. 2 seeded pair in the main draw and was 7-1 entering the tournament. So far, they have strung together three convincing victories to suggest that they have a chance to win the main doubles draw of this event. They have a chance to punch their ticket to the finals as they face FSU's Das/Garcia
Summary
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Defeats Alexia Alvarez/Damira Muminovic (GSU) 8-0
Round of 16: Defeats Danel Ashirova/Lucie Renault (STE) 8-2
Round of 8: Defeats Sasha Hill/Petra Hule (FSU, tournament No. 7 seed) 8-7(4)
Sharma/Martin
In their first action as a pair, Sharma and Martin fell in their first matchup of the tournament to Georgia Tech's Nami Otsuka and Gia Cohen by a count of 8-4.
Summary
Round of 64: Bye
Round of 32: Loss to Nami Otsuka/Gia Cohen (GT) 8-4
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