ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 22 UCF women's tennis team picked up their second win in 24 hours, sweeping Georgia Southern by a count of 7-0.
"We were a little bit tight in the beginning," said assistant coach Cristina Sanchez-Quintanar. "The girls reacted the right way, they were a little bit tired emotionally from yesterday. In the end, I think we stepped up the way we wanted and finished how we wanted. We still have a lot to work on and we're back to work tomorrow as we work toward another challenge in Old Dominion."
The Knights jumped out to an early lead in doubles thanks to a 6-0 win by No. 60 Ksenia Kuznetsova and Valeriya Zeleva over Paula Hijos and Paula Boixader on court two. The Black and Gold clinched the doubles point with a 6-1 victory on court three from Nandini Sharma and Evgeniya Levashova over Sonja Keranen and Nadja Meier. The lone remaining doubles court finished the match despite clinching, as Charlotte Van Diemen and Sophie Wagemaker beat No. 6 Marie Mattel and Rebeka Stolmar 6-2.
UCF took all six first sets and eventually started to pile up the singles points. No. 42 Stolmar was the first one to add to the scoreboard as she topped Wagemaker 6-3, 6-0 on court two. Last night's hero, Jaleesa Leslie cruised to a win shortly after, defeating Hijos 6-1, 6-1 on court five.
Two Knights raced to get the clincher. It was No. 95 Levashova who locked up court one and sealed the victory for the Black and Gold as she beat Boixader 6-4, 6-0. The match continued after the deciding court was won and saw Kuznetsova claim court four, collecting a 6-3, 6-0 victory over Mila Hartig.
No. 72 Mattel was the next Knight to earn a point. After going down 4-0 in the first frame, Mattel was able to rally all the way back and take the first set. She went on to edge Van Diemen 6-4, 6-4.
Court six was the final one to finish as Sara Culbertson went toe-to-toe with Elizabth Goines in a close first set that needed a tiebreaker. The sweep was completed as Culbertson jumped out to a big lead in the second frame and never looked back, winning with a 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 decision.
UP NEXT
UCF has a day off before they resume play at the USTA National Campus. The Knights will host Old Dominion at noon on Monday to cap off their busy weekend. The Monarchs received votes in the latest Oracle/ITA team rankings.
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