ATLANTA – The UCF women's tennis team wrapped up its time at the ITA Southeast Regional Championships this weekend. Four Knights participated, with Marie Mattel going the furthest out of any member of the Black and Gold, reaching the quarterfinals of the main draw.
Mattel, Jaleesa Leslie, Nandini Sharma and Anique Kattenberg all participated in the main draw of singles and doubles in what was a tournament that included all 17 teams in the Southeast region.
Mattel's march to the quarterfinals of the main singles draw was impressive. The nation's 90th ranked singles player began her run with a win over Georgia Tech's Alejandra Cruz with a tight 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) result, who was playing on her home courts for the weekend. The success continued for Mattel, beating South Florida's Sierra Berry in straight sets by a score of 6-0, 6-4 in the round of 32. Mattel encountered her first ranked opponent of the tournament in the Sweet 16, breezing past Miami's Isabella Pfenning 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the quarterfinals. That's where Mattel's run came to an end, falling to the tournament's top seeded and No. 16 ranked Carol Lee of Georgia Tech by a score of 6-4, 6-0.
Leslie earned a victory in the main singles draw as well, beating South Florida's Cliona Walsh by a score of 6-0, 6-4 in the first round. Her run was halted by Georgia's Lea Ma in the second round, as the nation's No. 26 singles player got the best of Leslie, beating her 6-2, 6-4.
Kattenberg and Sharma were unable to earn victories in the singles portion of the tournament, as Kattenberg fell to FAU's Martina Kudelova 6-3, 6-2 and Sharma was edged by FSU's Olympe Lancelot 7-5, 6-3. Sharma did not play in the consolation bracket while Kattenberg fell in a tough 6-4, 6-4 result to FSU's Anna Arkadanou.
Mattel and Sharma made a run in the main draw of doubles with a pair of victories. They began with a dominant victory over FSU's Vic Allen and Mila Saric, beating them 8-1. The success continued against Florida's Emily De Oliveira and Sophie Williams by a score of 8-5. The Knight pair's time in the main draw came to an end in a tight 8-7 (8-6) contest against North Florida's Kit Gulihur and Isabel Oliveira.
Leslie and Kattenberg fell in the first round of the main doubles draw by a score of 8-4 to Georgia Tech's Mahak Jain and Ruth Marsh. That didn't stop them from having success in the doubles consolation draw and earned a pass to the quarterfinals via a walkover of an FAU tandem. The UCF duo advanced to the semifinals with an 8-6 win over Georgia State's Michell Ncube and Andreea Stanescu. Leslie and Kattenberg earned a strong 8-2 win over Stetson's Noa Cohen and Nadejda Maslova. The Knight tandem matched up with FIU's Ekaterina Khairutdinova and Kamila Umarova in the consolation final and earned a close 8-6 victory to finish their run on a high note.
UP NEXT
UCF's final collegiate tournament of the fall will be the Jacksonville Classic, hosted by North Florida from Oct. 28-30. The Knights have three more professional tournaments on the slate, with the next being the ITF W25 Fort Worth event starting on Oct. 17.
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