ORLANDO - The No. 21 UCF women's tennis team (3-1) notched its third win of the season Sunday against the previously undefeated LSU Tigers (4-1). After dropping the doubles point and the first singles point, the Knights took four straight points to clinch the match on court six.
During doubles play, the Knights gained an early advantage on court three when Sophia Biolay and Nandini Sharma defeated the duo of Safiya Carrington and Maggie Cubitt 6-2. Court two finished shortly after, where the freshmen tandem of Jantje Tilbuerger and Stefani Webb fell short to LSU's Kylie Collins and Nina Geissler, 6-2. The doubles point came down to Marie Mattel and Noel Saidenova battling the ITA's seventh-ranked doubles team of Anastasiya Komar and Nikita Vishwase. It was a back-and-forth match that ended with the Tigers coming out on top 6-4 and claiming the doubles point.
Once singles play began, LSU gained another point on court two, where Stefani Webb fell in her singles debut to 32nd-ranked Anastasiya Komar 6-2, 6-1. Shortly after, the Knights picked up their first point of the day on court four, where Noel Saidenova defeated Safiya Carrington 6-1, 7-5.
The momentum had shifted in the Knights favor, with two exhilarating finishes just seconds apart on courts three and five. On three, freshman Jantje Tilbuerger defeated Nina Geissler 6-2, 6-4 while Sophia Biolay picked up a victory on court five against Maggie Cubitt 6-2, 7-5. The Black and Gold had rallied back from 2-0 to take a 3-2 lead going into the final ties.
110th-ranked Nandini Sharma faced off against Mia Rabinowitz with the match on the line. After splitting the first two sets 6-3, 3-6, the final set deemed the Knights victorious as Sharma came out on top 6-3 which. The Knights had stormed back from down two in another match this season, which led to 47th-ranked Marie Mattel's match against ITA's seventh ranked singles player, Kylie Collins, to be left unfinished. Collins had taken the first set 7-6 with a tiebreaker of 7-4 and was leading in the second set 5-4 before the match was called.
#21 UCF 4, LSU 3
Doubles Competition
- #7 Anastasiya Komar/Nikita Vishwase (LSU) def. Marie Mattel/Noel Saidenova (UCF) 6-4
- Kylie Collins/Nina Geissler (LSU) def. Jantje Tilbuerger/Stefani Webb (UCF) 6-2
- Sophia Biolay/Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. Safiya Carrington/Maggie Cubitt (LSU) 6-2
Singles Competition
- #7 Kylie Collins (LSU) def. #47 Marie Mattel (UCF) 7-6 (7-4), 5-4
- #32 Anastasiya Komar (LSU) def. Stefani Webb (UCF) 6-2, 6-1
- Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) def. Nina Geissler (LSU) 6-2, 6-4
- Noel Saidenova (UCF) def. Safiya Carrington (LSU) 6-1, 7-5
- Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Maggie Cubitt (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
- Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. Mia Rabinowitz (LSU) 6-3, 6-3, 6-3
Order of Finish
Doubles (3,2,1) Singles (2,4,3,5,6,1)
UP NEXT
The Knights continue their homestand next Tuesday, Feb. 14, when they host FIU at 5 p.m. at the USTA National Campus.
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