RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 18 UCF women's tennis team dropped a heartbreaking five-hour battle with No. 16 Wake Forest at ITA Kickoff Weekend by a count of 4-3 to open their 2021 campaign.
All three doubles courts were needed to decide the first point of the match. Wake Forest got the upper hand early as Anna Brylin and Brooke Killingsworth topped No. 6 Rebeka Stolmar and Marie Mattel on court one by a count of 6-3. The Knights struck back nearly right after as freshmen Marion Deloziere picked up her first collegiate doubles victory along with Valeriya Zeleva. They topped Mia Ahmad and Peyton Pesavento 6-3. The deciding court was the tightest throughout and saw Ksenia Kuznetsova and Sara Culbertson collect the doubles point, edging Anna Campana and Casie Wooten 6-4.
Due to the size of NC State's indoor venue, singles matches one through four were allowed to begin first. Once a match ended, singles matches five and six could begin based on court availability.
Wake Forest struck back fast after the doubles segment, taking three of four first sets. Brylin was able to pick up a straight set victory over Kuznetsova by a count of 6-1, 6-3 on court three.
The Demon Deacons grabbed court one next, as No. 67 Zeleva went toe-to-toe with No. 21 Campana but wound up being defeated by 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
The Knights struck back with a win on court four. No. 72 Mattel battled with Pesavento for the first two sets and cruised in the final frame, capturing a 6-3, 2-6, 6-1 victory. At the time of Mattel's win, UCF was trialing on all three remaining courts, but continued to fight.
Returning senior captain No. 42 Stolmar was trailing in her bout with Killingsworth. At one point, Stolmar was trailing 4-0 in the second set after dropping the first frame. She was able to battle all the way back and take set number two. The third and final stanza was a tussle that saw Stolmar wind up victorious, collecting a 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 victory on court two.
Wake Forest answered in a hurry, snatching court six where Maddie Lynch topped Culbertson 6-2, 6-3 to even the score at 3-3.
The final court of the day would come down to the only freshman vs. freshman match. Wooten took set one and nearly took set two from UCF rookie Jaleesa Leslie. Leslie mounted a miraculous comeback in the second frame to force a third set. The two went back and forth, but in the end it was Wooten who sealed the match for the Demon Deacons with the 6-3, 6-7 (1-7), 7-5 result.
The marathon of a match lasted four hours and 57 minutes, one of the longest in program history.
UP NEXT
UCF will be right back in action tomorrow at 11 a.m. They await the loser of the No. 8 NC State vs. Northwestern match.
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