ORLANDO, Fla. - The No. 26 UCF women's tennis team (7-7) battled hard, but came up short in a Friday night match against No. 7 NC State (12-2) at USTA National Campus. The Knights went the distance in four singles courts, but only were able to secure one of them in the 6-1 defeat.
While the Knights dropped the first doubles court to wrap up action with a 6-1 loss on court three, they didn't let that stop them in doubles play. Nandini Sharma and Stefani Webb picked up right where they left off last match on court two, earning a huge ranked win over the 8th-ranked doubles tandem (6-1), giving Nell Miller and Amelia Rajecki just their second doubles loss of the season. The Knights duo got off to a hot start, going on a 4-0 streak before dropping one game. This would be the only game lost for the pairing, who persevered and kept going to tie the doubles point up at one court apiece.
It all came down to court one, where the Knights duo of No. 61 Marie Mattel and Sophia Biolay were going head-to-head against the Wolfpack tandem of No. 18 Diana Shnaider and Alana Smith. NC State got an early jump on the match, taking the first two games and held the lead for the entire match. While the Knight pairing fought hard, it ultimately fell short, dropping 6-4. With that result, NC State claimed the doubles point and led 1-0 shifting into singles play.
The Wolfpack quickly went up 2-0 after No. 30 Mattel was forced to retire on court one (6-0, 2-1, retired), giving the victory to No. 35 Diana Shnaider. The next result came from the court over, where the 9th-ranked singles player from NC State defeated Noel Saidenova (6-4, 6-1), putting the Pack up 3-0.
The next action took some time, as courts three through six all went to third sets, after each opponent took one of the sets. Freshman Webb dropped the first set (6-3) on court three against the 18th-ranked Rajecki, but picked up momentum and came back to take the second set 6-3. The third set brought out the energy in everyone, with each player taking one game back-and-forth until it was tied 4-4. Rajecki was able to pull ahead and take the set 6-4 to claim the match for herself and for the Wolfpack. After this result, the coaches from both teams decided to play out the remaining courts.
Over on court five, senior Sharma was battling hard, claiming the only first set victory for the Knights, 6-4. Her opponent, No. 123 Sophia Abrams, was able to climb back and take the second set, 6-2, to force a third. Not letting the lost set get the best of her, Sharma kept applying pressure to the Wolfpack and emerged victorious (6-4, 2-6, 6-4), in typical Sharma fashion. This ended up being the lone point won by the Knights in the evening match.
Moments later, Jaleesa Leslie, who was making her first singles appearance since the match against Pepperdine, fell in a three-set heartbreaker on court six (6-2, 3-6, 6-3), extending the lead for NC State to 5-1.
Court four was a true grind for Biolay, who forced a third set after dropping the first. The third set was a true nail-biter, culminating in a tiebreak set after the two opponents tied 6-6. Biolay ultimately fell short in the tiebreak, unable to gain any momentum after going down 3-0 (6-2, 4-6, 7(7)-6(3)), sealing the 6-1 loss for the Knights.
#7 NC State Wolfpack 6, #26 UCF 1
Singles competition
1. #35 Diana Shnaider (ST) def. #30 Marie Mattel (UCF) 6-0, 2-1, retired
2. #9 Alana Smith (ST) def. Noel Saidenova (UCF) 6-4, 6-1
3. #18 Amelia Rajecki (ST) def. Stefani Webb (UCF) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4
4. #55 Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. Sophia Biolay (UCF) 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (7-3)
5. Nandini Sharma (UCF) def. #123 Sophie Abrams (ST) 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
6. Nell Miller (ST) def. Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #18 Diana Shnaider/Alana Smith (ST) def. #61 Sophia Biolay/Marie Mattel (UCF) 6-4
2. Nandini Sharma/Stefani Webb (UCF) def. #8 Nell Miller/Amelia Rajecki (ST) 6-1
3. Sophie Abrams/Abigail Rencheli (ST) def. Noel Saidenova/Anique Kattenberg (UCF) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,2,3,5,6,4)
UP NEXT
The Black and Gold head out onto the road for one final time in the 2023 spring season. The squad will travel to No. 27 Georgia Tech on Thursday, Mar. 23 and No. 46 Clemson on the following Saturday, before heading home for the last home stand of the campaign, filled with three conference opponents.
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