ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 13 UCF women's tennis team swept their way to win number one of the 2020 dual match season as they defeated Cornell by a score of 7-0.
"It feels good to get back in competing mode," said UCF head coach Bryan Koniecko, "I think they did alright today. I thought the team was a little nervous in doubles which is what we expected in the beginning, but it was good to get that one under the belt. I was very impressed with the singles play. I thought everyone had good energy and they took care of business."
The Knights would strike first on court three in doubles as Evgeniya Levashova and Sara Culbertson defeated Fatima El Ashram and Khary Pryce by a count of 6-2. UCF clinched the doubles point on court two as Marie Mattel and Domenika Turkovic teamed up to beat Megan Polnet and Ashley Hueng 6-4. Court one went unfinished, as Nadja Bay Christians and Valeriya Zeleva were leading Valerie Ho and Maria Adiaconitei 5-4 when the first point of the match was clinched.
UCF was an unstoppable force in the singles segment. Levashova had her way in her first match as a Knight, topping Ho 6-0, 6-0 on court one. Just after Levashova's victory, No. 54 Mattel followed suit with a 6-0, 6-0 win of her own on court three over Adiaconitei.
Culbertson would clinch the match for the Black and Gold as she picked up a 6-2, 6-1 victory on court four over El Ashram. The two sides would play out the remainder of the match.
No. 40 Zeleva was next to finish as she triumphed over Hueng by a count of 6-3, 6-2 on court two. Turkovic would follow Zeleva with a victory on court five, beating Deng 6-4, 6-1. Rounding out the match was Valentina Martin on court six as she won 6-1, 6-3 over Pryce. The victory was Martin's first as a Knight; the accomplishment was greeted with a group hug from her teammates.
UP NEXT
The Knights will head north for ITA Kickoff Weekend in Ann Arbor, Mich. UCF is set to face Utah on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET. Depending on the result of the match, the Black and Gold will face the winner/loser of the No. 14 Michigan/Ole Miss match on Sunday at a time to be named later.
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