ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 17/18 UCF women's tennis team is set to resume their rivalry with South Florida as the two sides will square off for the 27th time in program history on Friday at 2 p.m.
The Black and Gold come into the match after their five-match winning streak was snapped on the road by No. 33 Oklahoma. Despite the defeat, multiple Knights have been on a roll recently. No. 25 Valeriya Zeleva is riding an eight-match winning streak, the longest on the team. Right behind her is Jaleesa Leslie who has won five straight and has been victorious in nine of her last ten matches. The standout freshman leads the team in singles wins with 11, seeing time at the fourth, fifth and sixth spots in the lineup. Ksenia Kuznetsova saw her winning streak of eight snapped against Oklahoma on Sunday.
The Bulls enter the match with a record of 7-12. They've lost their last two matches, falling to No. 28 Rice and No. 43 FIU. South Florida is just 2-7 on the road this season.
The Knights lead the annual War On I-4 all-sports tally by a count of 34.5-16.5. The winner of Friday's match will receive six points toward the overall score.
UCF has won three straight matches against the Bulls, beating them twice during the 2019 dual match campaign, once during the regular season and again in the championship match of The American's postseason tournament. The team's 2020 contest never happened due to the shutdown of the sport from the COVID-19 outbreak. The Knights haven't lost to South Florida in 1454 days.
CAPACITY, MASKS AND MORE
The USTA National Campus will allow 25 percent of capacity of fans at matches. Masks and social distancing in the stands are required. A daily health waiver must be filled out upon entry to the venue. Spectators will not be allowed in the indoor tennis facility if the match needs to be moved for any reason. More information can be found on the links attached to this preview. Matches are free to attend.
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