AUSTIN, Texas – Noel Saidenova and Jantje Tilbuerger of the UCF women's tennis team completed their second professional tournament of the fall as they made their way through the qualifying rounds to the main draw of the ITF W25 Austin event.
Both Saidenova and Tilbuerger began their run in the qualifying rounds of the draw. Tilbuerger dominated her first match of the tournament, winning 6-1, 6-0 over QiLi Ma, a former player at Central Arkansas. Tilbuerger followed up that performance with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over Maria Kononova, the winningest singles player at North Texas upon her graduation in 2019. Saidenova reached the main draw with back-to-back straight set victories as well, beating Prairie View A&M alumna Eugenie Christine Ngo Gwodog 6-1, 6-3 and current University of Texas junior Charlotte Chavatipon 6-2, 6-3. Chavatipon went 17-9 in last year's dual match slate and primarily played No. 3 or No. 4 singles for the Longhorns.
Saidenova showed determination in a come-from-behind effort in the opening round of singles. She dropped the first set to Victoria Rodriguez but was able to rally back to win the match 3-6, 6-1, 6-1. Saidenova had lost to Rodriguez in a tournament this summer but was able to earn revenge in the round of 64 in Austin.
Saidenova's run in the main draw came to an end in a tight contest with the No. 2 player in the bracket, falling 6-3, 6-4 to Yuki Naito, who is currently the world's 211th best singles player.
Tilbuerger was bested in the opening round of the main draw as she was edged by Martyna Kubka 6-3, 6-4. The two met earlier this fall in the ITF W15 Lubbock quarterfinals, where Kubka was victorious in a tight match as well.
UP NEXT
There are four more ITF events on the schedule for the remainder of the fall, with select Knights set to compete in tournaments hosted in Florence, Fort Worth, Champaign and Waco. The next collegiate tournament begins on Sunday as multiple Knights are set to compete at the ITA All-American Championships in Cary, N.C.
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