ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 8, top-seeded UCF women's tennis team advanced to its second straight American Athletic Conference final as they swept fifth-seeded Houston 4-0 in the semifinals on Saturday afternoon.
"I thought we did a great job today," said head coach Bryan Koniecko. "Houston played a great match and pushed us hard in some second sets. I thought we brought the energy today; I was really happy with that. There's a couple of things we need to do slightly better tomorrow; I think and know our team will respond. Were ready to give everything we have for one more match."
Two courts split in doubles almost simultaneously. Court one fell to Houston as Laura Slisane and Mimi Kendall-Woseley beat Ksenia Kuznetsova and Valeriya Zeleva 6-0. Less than a minute later, Rebeka Stolmar and Nandini Sharma earned a 6-0 win of their own, besting Azul Pedemonti and Blanca Cortijo Parreno. The doubles point came down to court two where Evgeniya Levashova and Nadja Bay Christians were able to earn the 6-3 win over Phonexay Chitdara and Sophie Gertis to grab the early lead.
UCF took five of six first sets and had all the momentum coming out of doubles.
The Knights were able to ride the surge to two straight set victories. No. 99 Levashova was the first to complete her match, beating Gertis 6-3, 6-2 on court three. Nandini Sharma followed suit, winning her ninth straight match as she topped Cortijo 6-1, 6-3 on court six.
Houston pushed back in multiple second sets but weren't able to tally points on the board. No. 19 Zeleva was able to seal the victory for the Knights with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-2 on court one as she defeated Kendall-Woseley.
UP NEXT
The Knights will play in their second straight conference final and will be looking hoist a trophy for the seventh time in program history. They'll face third-seeded Tulsa at noon on Sunday for the title and The American's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
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