ORLANDO- The UCF women’s tennis team looks to complete a successful road trip this weekend, as it travels south to play FIU and Miami Feb. 2 and Feb. 4, respectively. Both matches are slated to start at noon.
The Knights first head to Miami to play the Panthers at the FIU Tennis Courts. UCF defeated FIU, 4-2, in the last meeting on Feb. 14, 2023, which saw Stefani Webb earn her first collegiate victory.
The Black and Gold then travel to Coral Gables, Florida, to play at the Neil Schiff Tennis Center Sunday to round out the road trip. UCF last saw the Hurricanes earlier this season at the Miami Spring Invite and picked up three wins during the tournament, including two singles wins from Sophia Biolay and Noel Saidenova, along with a doubles victory courtesy of Oliva Lincer and Jantje Tilbuerger.
The team is coming into the two-match weekend after playing two in Norman, Oklahoma, where it was defeated by No. 16 Oklahoma and Illinois at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. During the battle with the Illini, the Knights showed fight and after dropping the first doubles match, they retaliated by winning the next two to go up 1-0 in the match. Despite the progress made, momentum shifted back in favor of Illinois during singles and UCF wound up with the hard-fought loss. The team kickstarted its season with a dominant 4-0 clean sweep over No. 20 Georgia Tech at home. UCF had previously lost twice to the Yellow Jackets during the 2023 season but came back strong to start the season on a high note. Saidenova is currently on a nine-match singles win streak, dating back to the Big 12 Fall Invite Nov. 9.
The Panthers enter the match with a 2-2 record, dropping matches to No. 21 Miami and No. 8 Florida. The squad defeated Wake Forest 4-2 on the final day of the ITA Kickoff Weekend, as well as DePaul, 6-1, on opening day. Oyinlomo Quadre of FIU comes into the match as a highly-touted player for the Panthers. Quadre, a sophomore from Nigeria who is currently ranked No. 104 by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, was the first player in FIU program history to become both the Conference USA Player and Freshman of the Year in 2023. Quadre has racked up two ranked singles wins this season, defeating No. 23 Emily de Oliveira of Florida and No. 42 Casie Wooten of Wake Forest.
The Hurricanes have started the season with a 1-2 record. Their lone win came against FIU, a 7-0 sweep at home. Miami fell to No. 18 USC, 4-2, and No. 25 Vanderbilt, 4-0, at the ITA Kickoff Weekend. Miami also comes into the contest with a few ranked players as well. Alexa Noel comes in at the top of the list at No. 23 in singles, winning five of her last six matches, including wins against No. 49 Alexandra Yepifanova of Stanford, No. 59 Carolina Gomez Alonso and No. 6 Ayana Akli of South Carolina. The Hurricanes also have No. 81 Audrey Boch-Collins and No. 90 Isabella Pfennig to round out the list.
For Friday's match, there will not be a live stream or live stats available, but fans can follow @UCF_WTennis on Twitter/X for updates. Sunday's contest will have a live stream and live stats available.