ORLANDO, Fla. – For the first time in program history, members of the UCF women's tennis team were named as All-Americans. Rebeka Stolmar and Marie Mattel were named as doubles All-Americans by the ITA on Tuesday morning after a phenomenal 2019-20 campaign.
"I'm very proud of Rebeka and Marie," said head coach Bryan Koniecko. "They compliment each other well on the court and played some great doubles this season. Being an All-American is the highest honor individually in our sport and I'm glad they were able to achieve it for themselves this season."
The tandem had a season to remember. Stolmar and Mattel picked up right where they left off from in the 2019 dual match season where they finished with nine straight victories in doubles. The duo compiled a record of 16-4 over the academic year and pieced together a 13-2 mark during the tournament season.
During their wildly successful fall, the pair won the ITA Southeast Regional Championship, taking down an FSU tandem on their home court to win the crown. Stomar and Mattel nearly claimed another title at the ITA All-American Championships, falling in a three-set battle in the semifinals. The duo powered through qualifiers in that tournament and fought their way through some highly ranked opponents along the way. By reaching the semifinals, Stomar and Mattel automatically earned a spot at the ITA National Fall Championships where they collected two victories before running into the tournament's top seed.
Stolmar and Mattel have earned 30 victories together over the course of their careers, making them the all-time winningest pair in program history. They have some company behind them though, as juniors Ksenia Kuznetsova and Valeriya Zeleva sit with 23 wins when playing together.
The All-American duo was on pace to shatter the single season doubles victories mark before the season's abrupt end, needing just six more wins to hold the record. Currently, Hadas Ronen/Itzel Soto-Rosa, Gaelle Gouttefarde/Veronica Widyadharma, and Kuznetsova/Maria Martinez sit in a tie for first place with 21 victories in a single season.
The pair climbed as high as No. 3 in the Oracle/ITA doubles rankings, making them the highest ranked duo of all-time. They earned that mark after concluding their exceptional tournament season; they went into the fall with a ranking of No. 31. Stolmar and Mattel finished the dual match season sitting at No. 10.
Individually, Stolmar has become one of the winningest doubles players at UCF. She sits in a tie of third place with 54 doubles victories throughout her career. Her outstanding 54-16 record is one of the best in program history. Stolmar sits 28 wins behind Monica Matias for a tie of first place in individual career doubles victories. Mattel may be on a pace to fly past Matias as she has collected 41 wins over her two-year tenure with the Knights.
Stolmar and Mattel were one of 10 doubles tandems to earn the prestigious honor of being named an All-American. Additionally, 20 singles players were dubbed with the award.
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