ORLANDO, Fla. - The No. 29 UCF women's tennis team (6-6) gave it its all, but ultimately fell short against No. 11 Virginia (10-3) on Friday night. Stefani Webb earned her first career ranked victory, but that proved to be not enough for the Knights, who were defeated 4-1 at USTA National Campus.
The doubles point started off hot for the Knights. On court three, the duo of Nandini Sharma and Stefani Webb quickly went up 3-0 to take a dominating lead. Not wasting any time, they quickly took the set 6-2 to give the Knights a leg up on the doubles point. After court one fell by a score of 6-4, it all came down to No. 61 Sophia Biolay and Marie Mattel, facing a tough back-and-forth fight against the 6th-ranked doubles tandem from Virginia. Neither duo ever got more than a one game lead, bringing the set down to the wire at 6-6. The nail-biter tie-breaker set ultimately went to the Cavaliers (7-5), but the Knights were still ready to fight for the four points needed to win the match in singles.
The first action of singles came from court five, where Sophia Biolay was defeated by Virginia's Sara Ziodato (6-2, 6-2), putting the Cavaliers up 2-0 on the match. Freshman Stefani Webb continued her phenomenal first collegiate season, going up against No. 124 Elaine Chervinsky on court three. Not showing fear dueling against her fourth ranked opponent of the season, Webb powered through the first set 6-3. Carrying this momentum into the second set, the freshman won the match with another score of 6-3, serving a huge ace on match point. This marked the second straight match that Webb has won with an ace, earning her first career ranked win with it as well.
Court four wrapped up shortly after Webb's victory, with Jantje Tilbuerger coming up short against Virginia's 89th-ranked singles player (6-4, 6-0). The remaining courts were going the distance in the third set, with neither team having clinched the four points needed to win the match yet. The next decision came from court one and No. 30 Mattel. After winning the first set against No. 44 Julia Adams, she came up short in the second and third, dropping the match (1-6, 6-4, 6-2) . With that, Virginia clinched the match victory and the remaining courts went unfinished.
Saidenova, playing on the second singles spot, faced a tough head-to-head with No. 78 Natasha Subhash, dropping 0-6 in the first set. Moving into the second set, Saidenova put the first behind her and came out on top, winning 6-3 to force a third set. After the match was clinched, the court went unfinished at 4-4 in the third. Nandini Sharma also went unfinished on court six. She battled hard and forced a third after coming up short in the first set. When the match went unfinished she led with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 3-1.
UP NEXT
The Knights will begin preparations for another big week, hosting No. 57 Yale on Tuesday, Mar. 14 and No. 5 NC State on Friday, Mar. 17. Both matches will have a first serve time of 5 p.m.
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