| NCAA Tournament Third Round #18 Duke vs. #9 UCF Sunday, May 7, 3 p.m. WATCH (TennisONE) | WATCH (Playsight) | LIVE STATS |
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 9 nationally seeded UCF women's tennis team is set for their Sweet 16 matchup of the NCAA Tournament as they'll face No. 18 Duke on Sunday evening at 7 p.m.
The Knights are back in the Sweet 16 for a second straight season after triumphing over Miami for the second time this season. UCF lost the doubles point but went on to win all six first sets as they closed out the 4-1 victory with a straight set win from their senior captain Rebeka Stolmar at the No. 2 spot in singles. The Black and Gold had never beat the Hurricanes prior to this season but were able to beat them twice during their 2021 campaign.
The Black and Gold are looking for their first Elite Eight appearance in program history. If they're successful, they'll be the first UCF team to reach the Elite Eight in a decade. The last team to accomplish this feat was the 2011 women's soccer team.
UCF looks to remain perfect at home this season and continue to defend home court, something they've done well since arriving to the UCF Collegiate Tennis Center at the USTA National Campus in 2017. The Knights have compiled an outstanding 60-8 record while playing at home over the past five seasons, including going 39-2 over the last three seasons. The Black and Gold are a perfect 16-0 at home so far this season and remained perfect throughout the 2019 season, recording a clean 18-0 record at home. The entire NCAA Tournament from the Sweet 16 on is hosted at the USTA National Campus, meaning the Knights will have home court advantage for the rest of the way.
Valeriya Zeleva carries a 12-match winning streak into the weekend. She hasn't lost since the first two matches of the season where she fell to Wake Forest and NC State as part of ITA Kickoff Weekend. She currently sits with a record of 12-2 and is 7-2 against ranked opposition.
Duke enters the Sweet 16 with a 17-6 record and a 2-6 mark against ranked opponents. The Blue Devils reached the quarterfinals of the ACC Championships where they fell to No. 13 Virginia 4-2. Duke reached the Sweet 16 by getting through the Waco region, sweeping Alabama before upsetting No. 8 Baylor on their home courts in a thrilling 4-3 battle.
Duke's Kelly Chen and Georgia Drummy have seen a time share of the No. 1 singles position, with Chen recording a 6-9 record while Drummy has gone 6-0. Duke has four ranked singles players with Drummy leading the way at No. 19, followed by Chloe Beck at No. 39, Meible Chi at No. 40 and Chen rounding out the group at No. 49. The Blue Devils have a total of six ranked doubles tandems, the highest being No. 9 Beck and Karolina Berankova.
HOW TO WATCH
For a full broadcast or whip-around coverage, fans can download the TennisONE app and tune into the broadcast that way. Otherwise, fans can still access the Playsight cameras that are on each court.
PRE-MATCH TAILGATE
The No. 9 UCF women's tennis team will host tailgating prior to the Knights' NCAA Tournament matchup against Duke. The event will take place in the parking lot of the USTA National Campus beginning at 5 p.m. and will run until 6:45 p.m. leading into the team's Sweet 16 match at 7 p.m.
Upon arrival to the USTA National Campus, fans should look for UCF tents towards the back of the parking lot off to their right. It is free to attend and food will be provided.
TICKETS
Limited tickets remain for the match and can be purchased here for $10. Fans will be socially distanced and at a 50 percent capacity for the match.
FOLLOW THE KNIGHTS
Follow UCF Women's Tennis on social media on Facebook (/UCF.WTennis), Twitter (UCF_WTennis) and Instagram (UCFWTennis).
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