ORLANDO – For the fifth-straight season, the UCF women's tennis team is back in the NCAA Tournament, as the Knights will head to Gainesville, Florida, from May 5-6 for the first and second rounds of tournament action.
No. 38 UCF will look for revenge against No. 17 Georgia Tech in the opening round of the tournament, after falling short in the teams' regular-season meeting, 4-3. First serve is set for 11 a.m. on Friday, May 5, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex. No. 75 North Florida and No. 16 Florida will play following the conclusion of the Knights' match, with the winners of each match advancing to the second round on May 6.
This is UCF's fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Knights advanced to the second round in 2018 with a win over FIU before falling 4-3 to nationally seeded Miami. In 2019, they made it to the Sweet 16, sweeping Alabama in the first round and upsetting No. 11 national seed Florida State, 4-1. After the COVID-shortened 2020 season brought a cancelation to all spring postseason tournaments, the Knights returned to the big dance in 2021, advancing all the way to the Sweet 16 for the second straight time before falling to Duke, 4-3. In 2022, the Black and Gold swept No. 40 Alabama in the first round before falling to No. 12 Miami to bring its tournament run to a close.
UCF and Georgia Tech have met five times, with the last matchup resulting in a 4-3 UCF loss on Mar. 23 in Atlanta.
The Knights advanced to the finals of the AAC Tournament for the third time in program history, falling just short of SMU in the conference tournament finale. The squad has been ranked as high as No. 14 this season, achieved on Feb. 21, and collected five ranked wins in the regular season. UCF has won four of its last six matches, the only two losses coming against SMU.
The Knights are 11-11 overall and earned three conference wins. Marie Mattel remains the highest-ranked singles player in the AAC, checking in at No. 36, reaching a season- and career-high ranking of No. 30 on Mar. 7.
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