ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 11 UCF women's tennis team (1-0) picked up a win in the season opener over Penn (0-1) with a score of 4-3 on Saturday, January 22, at the USTA National Campus
"We knew it was going to be tough," head coach Bryan Koniecko said, "Penn is a great team and they pushed us today. We clinched the match at 4-0, but it was a 4-3 match. I am really pleased with what I saw today."
The Knights started off hot in doubles as Nandini Sharma and Sophia Biolay dominated with a 6-0 win over Saige Roshkoff and Gavriella Smith on court three. UCF clinched the doubles point shortly after with a 6-2 win on court two as Nadja Bay Christians and Evgeniya Levashova defeated Sabine Rutlauka and Eileen Wang. The Knights were also just a few points away from taking court one. The duo of Noel Saidenova and Marie Mattel were up 5-1 over No. 30 Iuliia Bryzgalova and Marija Curnic but the match went unfinished.
UCF kept the momentum going into the singles, leading on four courts early before the weather delay. After moving indoors Nandini Sharma grabbed a point for UCF quickly with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Saige Roshkoff on court six. Shortly after, Jaleesa Leslie defeated Eileen Wang on court five by a score of 6-3, 6-4 to help the Knights lead 3-0.
No. 102 Marie Mattel sealed the match win with a 6-0, 7-5 win over Marija Curnic on court three to go clinch the match, 4-0.
In her singles debut, Noel Saidenova took on No. 81 Sabine Rutlauka on court two and nearly forced a third set, but fell 4-6, 6-7(4) while No. 37 Evgeniya Levashova faced No. 53 Luliia Bryzgalova on court one, falling 5-7, 2-6. Also making her debut as a Knight was Sophia Biolay on court four, taking on Gavriella Smith in a hard-fought match, but fell 6-1, 6-7(5), 3-10. The Knights defeated Penn 4-3 in the opening match of the season.
UP NEXT
The Knights will stay home to host the ITA Kickoff Weekend on Friday and Saturday, January 28-29. UCF will first face UC-Santa Barbara on Friday before taking on either Auburn or Arizona State on Saturday.
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