CLEMSON, S.C. – The No. 24 UCF women's tennis team dropped its final road match of the regular season to No. 33 Clemson on Saturday afternoon. Winning the doubles point proved to not be enough for the Knights, who dropped the match 4-3.
The first doubles decision came from the 57th-ranked duo of Stefani Webb and Nandini Sharma on court one. The tandem continued on its win streak, defeating its opponent with a swift 6-2 score.
Needing one more court to secure the doubles point, the two remaining Knights duos kicked it into high gear to try and wrap up their matches first. Anique Kattenberg and Jaleesa Leslie, earning their first win as a duo, were the pair to do it, taking their match 6-4 to put the Knights up 1-0 on the match.
Shifting into singles, the Tigers earned the first two points after the Knights on courts one and two were forced to retire their matches, giving Clemson a 2-1 lead. The lead was strengthened to 3-1 after Kattenberg was defeated by her opponent on court six (6-2, 7-6 (8-6)).
All hope was not lost for the Knights, who won the next two courts to tie the score up at three apiece. Leslie earned her second-straight singles win of the week on court five. After taking set one to feel her opponent out, she increased the pressure on the Tigers and took the second set 6-0, winning the match in straight sets for the second match in-a-row as well.
Right next door, on court four, redshirt senior Sharma also took her match in a close three-set battle. After the Knight dropped the first set 6-2, she came back strong in the second, winning it 6-3 to force a third. Neither player could seem to break serve at first, going back-and-forth until the score was tied at five games apiece. Sharma was able to break serve and take the third set 7-5, bringing the Knights up in the overall match score to 3-3.
The Black and Gold fell on the final remaining court in three sets, dropping the match 4-3 to bring its final road trip to an end. This is the first time the Knights have gone winless on the road during Bryan Koniecko's tenure as head coach and the first time since 1990.
UP NEXT
The Knights will return home to wrap up their regular season with a four game home stand. The squad will have a bit of a break before its next match, when conference foe Tulane travels to the USTA National Campus on Monday, Apr. 3 at 5 p.m.
