ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The UCF women's tennis team is set to compete in two more tournaments starting this weekend as they will participate in the Bedford Cup from Oct. 4-6 and the ITA All-American Championships from Oct. 5-13.
BEDFORD CUP
The Bedford Cup takes place in Fort Myers, Fla. on the campus of FGCU. A trio of sophomores will be representing the Knights; Nandini Sharma, Domenika Turkovic and Valentina Martin.
Sharma is coming into the tournament with a statement win from last week's UTSA Fall Collegiate Classic. Sharma defeated one of Florida's top players, Victoria Emma, with a score of 6-1, 6-3. She looks to build off a remarkable freshman campaign, going 18-3 in the spring. Sharma is tabbed as the No. 2 seed of the "A-draw" and will face Stetson's Brooke Milner at 9 a.m. on Friday.
Turkovic will be competing for her second time at the Bedford Cup. Last year, she won her first-round match in straight sets by a count of 6-2, 6-4. She went on to edge Natalia Boltinskaya from FAU in a second-round contest, winning 7-6 (8-6), 6-3. Turkovic will be participiating in the "A-draw and will be matched up against the No. 1 seed, FIU's Kamila Umarova. The two will square off on Friday at 9 a.m.
Martin, the final component of this trio, is looking to improve upon her last season. In the fall, she posted an 8-5 mark while getting her first taste of collegiate action. Martin will face UNF's Constanza Gorches in the first round of the "B-draw" on Friday at 9 a.m.
Sharma and Turkovic will team up to form the No. 1 seeded doubles tandem in the "A-draw." They'll face USF's Margriet Timmermans and Janvhi Clark on Friday at 8 a.m.
The Knights competed in the tournament last season as Rebeka Stolmar headlined the weekend with a pair of runner-up finishes.
ITA ALL-AMERICAN CHAMPIONSHIPS
Four Knights will make their way to Tulsa, Okla. to participate in the ITA All-American Championships. Valeriya Zeleva, Ksenia Kuznetsova, Rebeka Stolmar and Marie Mattel will all be in attendance.
No. 29 Zeleva will start the tournament in the main singles draw. She won her first-round match of the Oracle ITA Masters before being eliminated in the round of 16. Her first match of the tournament won't come until Wednesday.
No. 62 Kuznetsova sits in the qualifying region of the bracket as she'll get her first taste of action this fall after ending last season with 25 total victories, placing her third on UCF's single season wins list. Kuznetsova posted a record of 10-3 in the fall of 2018. Her qualifier run begins Monday as she'll try to advance into the main draw.
No. 98 Stolmar and Mattel will have to battle through pre-qualifiers in singles play. Mattel had a phenomenal opening tournament of the fall season, reaching the final four of the USTA Fall Collegiate Classic. If they can get through pre-qualifiers, they'll reach qualifiers in hopes of making it through that to get to the main draw. Their matches will start on Saturday.
All four Knights will participate in doubles play. The nation's No. 7 duo of Zeleva and Kuznetsova will participate in the main doubles draw while No. 31 Stolmar and Mattel will start in qualifiers which begin on Monday.
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