DALLAS, Texas – The No. 19 UCF women's tennis team made the comeback win over No. 46 SMU on Friday, April 8, with a score of 4-3 in Dallas, Texas.
The win marks head coach Bryan Koniecko's 100th win as UCF's head coach.
Despite dropping the doubles point, the Knights came back to win, extending to a six-match win streak.
SMU came out strong and took the doubles point after winning on court one and two. No. 29 Evgeniya Levashova and Marie Mattel dropped their match to No. 71 Hadley Doyle and Jackie Nylander, 3-6, one court one while on court two Sophia Biolay and Nandini Sharma couldn't hold on as they also fell 4-6 to Lexi Keberle and Lana Mavor.
On court three, Noel Saidenova and Jaleesa Leslie were leading on court three, 6-5, over Nicole Petchey and Claudia Bartolome but their match went unfinished.
Singles action was exciting all the way. Four of the six courts went to a third set and two of those ended in a tiebreak.
Jaleesa Leslie faced Jackie Nylander on court three where she nearly forced a third set, but couldn't hold on as she fell 3-6, 5-7. The Mustangs then led by two.
Then on court one, No. 91 Evgeniya Levashova turned things around in her match against Lexi Keberle. After dropping set one, Levashova came back stronger to take the next two, winning 0-6, 6-2, 6-0, to give the Knights a point.
On court four, No. 84 Marie Mattel also completely shifted momentum against Claudia Bartolome because after dropping her first set, Mattel blanked Bartolome in the next two sets, earning the 3-6, 6-0, 6-0 win to tie the match at two all.
Nandini Sharma also dropped her first set, but came back to win 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 over Nicole Petchey on court six, extending her win streak to eight straight and giving the Knights the 3-2 lead.
Two courts remained and both came down to a third set tiebreak.
On court two, Noel Saidenova was battling Hadley Doyle but was edged out in the end as she fell, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 while SMU tied the match back up at three all.
Coming down to court five where Sophia Biolay and Lana Mavor were back and forth, but Biolay came out victorious with a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6 win to clinch the match.
UP NEXT
The Knights continue conference action this weekend as they take on Tulsa at 1:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 10, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
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