ORLANDO, Fla. – The UCF women's tennis team will begin the 2021 campaign as the nation's No. 18 team, according to the Oracle/ITA's preseason team rankings released on Wednesday morning.
The Knights finished the shortened 2020 dual match campaign with a huge win on the road over No. 22 Baylor, bringing their winning streak to four and their overall record to 10-3. UCF was ranked as the nation's No. 20 team at the time; the win over Baylor was unable to factor into any ranking due to the shutdown.
In addition to being a top 25 team, UCF boasts four ranked singles players and two ranked doubles teams to begin 2021. The Knights were just one of 11 teams with four or more singles players in the Oracle/ITA's preseason singles rankings. Rebeka Stolmar checked in at No. 42 followed by Valeriya Zeleva at No. 67, Marie Mattel at No. 72 and Evgeniya Levashova at No. 95. It is the first time in team history that four singles players are ranked inside the top 100. In doubles, Stolmar and Mattel are tabbed at No. 6 while Zeleva and Ksenia Kuznetsova sit at No. 60.
UCF has a chance to climb the rankings right out of the gate. The Knights will face No. 16 Wake Forest to open the season as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend and will either face No. 8 NC State or Northwestern the following day. The Knights reached a program best ranking of No. 12 early on in the 2020 season and look to surpass that mark this season.
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