ORLANDO - The No. 39 UCF women's tennis team dropped a difficult match to No. 47 SMU on Sunday afternoon. The regular season finale ended in heartbreak for the Knights, who failed to gain momentum after dropping the doubles point, losing the match 4-2.
The first doubles decision came from the tandem of Anique Kattenberg and Jaleesa Leslie on court three as they defeated their opponent, 6-1. Shortly after, action finished on court two, as Noel Saidenova and Nandini Sharma fell to Taylor Johnson and Lana Mayor, 6-1.
It all came down to court one, where tandem Sophia Biolay and Marie Mattel had won three straight games after being down 4-1 to even the score. The tandems split the next two games, leaving it all tied at five a piece. The Black and Gold won the following set, taking a 6-5 lead over Mustangs duo of Maja Majoric and Jackie Nylander. The back-and-forth battle led to a tiebreaker where the Knights were defeated, 7-6(3), clinching the doubles point for SMU.
The first action of singles came from court two, where Saidenova was defeated by Johnson (6-2, 6-2), putting the Mustangs up 2-0 in the match.
Biolay put the Knights on the board with a clutch straight-set victory on court three. She went up a break in the first set and never looked back, taking the close set 7-5. The second set was all Biolay, only allowing her opponent one hold in the 6-1 decision to take the match.
Kattenberg gave UCF its second point of the day with her third-straight victory on court six. After dropping a difficult first set, she bounced back to take the next two sets and secure a second point for the match (2-6, 6-4, 6-2).
Sharma dropped the first set on court three 6-0, but came back in the second to tie the set at 6-6 and force a tiebreak game. Her SMU opponent ended up taking the match to put them within one of the victory.
No. 32 Mattel dropped a tough three-set match to clinch the victory for the Mustangs with a 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 decision.
#47 SMU 4, #39 UCF 2
Singles competition
1. #123 Hadley Doyle (SMU) def. #32 Marie Mattel (UCF) 6-4, 4-6, 6-3
2. Taylor Johnson (SMU) def. Noel Saidenova (UCF) 6-3, 6-1
3. Drew Morris (SMU) def. Nandini Sharma (UCF) 6-0, 7-6 (7-4)
4. Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Jackie Nylander (SMU) 7-5, 6-1
5. Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) vs. Lana Mavor (SMU) 3-6, 6-2, 4-5, unfinished
6. Anique Kattenberg (UCF) def. Maja Makoric (SMU) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. Maja Makoric/Jackie Nylander (SMU) def. Sophia Biolay/Marie Mattel (UCF) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Taylor Johnson/Lana Mavor (SMU) def. Noel Saidenova/Nandini Sharma (UCF) 6-1
3. Jaleesa Leslie/Anique Kattenberg (UCF) def. Hadley Doyle/Drew Morris (SMU) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (2,3,1); Singles (2,4,3,6,1)
UP NEXT
The Knights will head to the conference tournament, with the opening round taking place on Wednesday, Apr. 19 at the USTA National Campus.