ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 18 UCF women's tennis team defeated No. 24 Furman by a count of 4-3 on Saturday afternoon at the UCF Collegiate Tennis Center at the USTA National Campus. The victory is the Knights' third win over a ranked opponent in 2021.
"It was tough today. A lot of credit to Furman, they have a feisty and competitive team," said head coach Bryan Koniecko. "We got the good end of some bounces today. We stepped up and played pretty well in doubles to get that tiebreaker that could've gone either way. Valeriya and Rebeka at one and two did an incredible job, Lera beat a top 15 opponent which is huge."
The doubles segment had some bumps in the road for both sides. Courts one and two started with flip-flopped scores, with Furman leading 4-1 on court one and UCF leading 4-1 on court two. The Knights earned the early edge in doubles with a 6-2 victory on court two where No. 6 Rebeka Stolmar and Marie Mattel cruised to a 6-2 win over Madison Dillon and Mary Ann Rompf. Court one didn't go so quietly, as the Knight tandem of No. 60 Ksenia Kuznetsova and Valeriya Zeleva tried to work their way back from a 5-1 defecit. They nearly got the job done but were edged by No. 27 Julia Adams and Katarina Kozarov 6-2 at the top doubles spot. The doubles point came down to court three where Evgeniya Levashova and Nadja Bay Christians powered their way to a 7-6 (7-4) victory over Maggie Pate and Ellie Schoppe.
With the match's first point in hand, the Knights charged into singles and collected four of six first sets. Kuznetsova triumphed over Rompf by a score of 6-2, 6-2 to earn the match's first singles point and give the Knights a 2-0 lead.
No. 67 Zeleva was next to secure a win as she defeated No. 15 Kozarov at the top singles spot in the lineup with a 6-3, 6-4 decision. Zeleva looks nearly unstoppable midway through the 2021 campaign as she has collected six straight victories and has four wins over ranked opponents.
Furman struck back moments after court one wrapped up. Dillon went on to win in straight, identical sets over No. 95 Levashova at the number three singles spot 6-3, 6-3.
UCF clinched the match with their captain, No. 42 Stolmar, winning a hard-fought battle at number two singles, edging Adams 6-4, 7-6 (7-2). The remaining courts had the chance to play out and finish their matches.
The last two courts following Stolmar's clincher went Furman's way in third sets. Court five finished in favor of Pate who defeated Bay Christians 7-6 (7-4), 5-7, 12-10 in a back and forth third set super tiebreaker. Court six was the final to conclude as Schoppe beat No. 72 Mattel 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 7-5.
UP NEXT
The Knights are back in action on Sunday afternoon as they host FAU at noon.
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