ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 12 UCF women's tennis team is set to begin the 2022 season at home at the USTA National Campus in four days.
UCF, the defending conference champions, is the highest-ranked Florida team to start the season at No.12, according to the ITA preseason team poll.
2022 SLATE
The Knights will play 21-regular season dual matches with 14 of them at home. Most notably, 15 of the 21 opponents were ranked in 2021. The Knights also saw nine of the teams last season while only dropping two of them.
UCF is set to face seven teams ranked in the 2022 ITA preseason top 25, including the top-ranked team of Texas. To see the full list, click here.
ITA KICKOFF WEEKEND
The Knights earned the right to host a 2022 ITA Kickoff Weekend bracket after a top 15 finish to end the 2021 season, marking the first time in program history they will host the event. UCF will welcome No. 25 Auburn, UC Santa Barbara, and Arizona State.
The Black and Gold will open ITA Kickoff Weekend against UC Santa Barbara on January 28 before facing either No. 25 Auburn or Arizona State the following day, depending on the result of each match. The two winners from day one will face off in the championship match on January 29 as they'll look to punch their ticket to ITA National Indoors.
ROSTER PREVIEW
UCF returns eight players from last year's conference championship team and adds two newcomers to the roster. The back-to-back AAC Player of the Year, Valeriya Zeleva, returns after her second NCAA Singles Championship run. Most recently, Zeleva ended the fall season ranked 64th in singles.
Evgeniya Levashova, who was last season's AAC Tournament Most Outstanding Player, is back with the Knights, ranking 37th in singles and 50th in doubles with Zeleva after a strong fall season.
Marie Mattel climbed into the singles rankings this fall at No. 102 and teamed up with Nandini Sharma to earn the 55th spot in doubles. Both will be back on the courts this spring.
Other returners for the Black and Gold include Nadja Bay Christians, Marion Deloziere, Anique Kattenberg, and Jaleesa Leslie while Sophia Biolay and Noel Saidenova will suit up for the first time for the Knights.
The 2022 dual match season means the head coach Bryan Koniecko is set to embark on his sixth season at the helm of the program. He and the team have posted a record of 87-26 (.770) since his arrival, have won two conference championships, and made three trips to the NCAA Tournament with two Sweet Sixteen appearances.
DEFENDING THE CROWN
Last season, the Knights posted a 20-5 overall record and went on to win their second consecutive American Athletic Conference title and its seventh conference title in program history (1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2019, 2021).
UCF continued to the NCAA Tournament where it earned its second-straight Sweet Sixteen appearance.
The Black and Gold will see three conference foes this season and will conclude the regular season with the War On I-4 matchup on April 16 at South Florida. The AAC Tournament is set for April 21-24.
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