Women's Tennis Wins Second Straight, 5-2, Over West VirginiaWomen's Tennis Wins Second Straight, 5-2, Over West Virginia

Women's Tennis Wins Second Straight, 5-2, Over West Virginia

by Logan Hasselbach

MORGANTOWN, W.V. – On the backs of a perfect showing by the upperclassmen, the UCF women’s tennis team earned a 5-2 win over West Virginia Sunday afternoon. The victory was the second-straight conference win from the squad, who swept Cincinnati 4-0 Friday night.

The Knights picked up right where they left off Friday evening, coming out hot in the doubles competition. The top tandem of Anique Kattenberg and Noel Saidenova earned their second-consecutive win at court one, easily taking down their opponents 6-2.

West Virginia retaliated, taking court three, bringing it all down to the second doubles position. Jantje Tilbuerger and Sophia Biolay remained calm, cool and collected as they notched a break to go up 5-4, with Tilbuerger holding steady with big serves to secure the second-straight doubles point for the Knights.

Shifting into singles play, the squad continued to dominate. No. 119 Biolay continued to show why she remains ranked at court two. The junior went up 3-0 early and battled to keep the lead in the first set to take it 6-3. The second set was a breeze for Biolay, not facing much resistance from her Mountaineers opponent. The 6-3, 6-0 win marks her 10th win of the season, matching her career-high set last year.

The next Knight to find success was Kattenberg, who has found herself on a roll as of late. The captain played at court four for just the second time this season and the first time in conference play. She dominated from the start, taking the match 6-2, 6-3 to put the Knights up 3-0 in the match. Her fifth win in the month of March also marks her sixth singles win of the season, tying her career-high earned during the 2023 season.

For the second-straight match, the clinching court was Saidenova’s. The four-time clincher played at the top singles court for the second time this season and continued to find success at No. 1. She showed no sign of quit, taking her match 6-4, 6-3. With her ninth singles win of the season, Saidenova has earned a new single-season career-high wins record.  

After the match was clinched, the remaining courts were played out. A nailbiter first set on court three came down to the wire for Tilbuerger, who emerged victorious 7-6(5). The second set proved to still be a battle for the sophomore, but in true UCF fashion, she continued to fight and came out with the second set and the win (7-6[5], 6-4).

West Virginia took courts five and six after the clinch for its lone two points of the afternoon.

UP NEXT

The Knights stay out on the road, traveling to Houston, Texas, to take on the Cougars Friday, with first serve slated for 2 p.m. ET.  

#62 UCF 5, #71 West Virginia 2

Singles competition

1. Noel Saidenova (UCF) def. Love-Star Alexis (WVU) 6-4, 6-3
2. #119 Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Maya Bordereau (WVU) 6-3, 6-0
3. Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) def. Momoko Nagato (WVU) 7-6 (7-5), 6-4

4. Anique Kattenberg (UCF) def. Maja Dodik (WVU) 6-2, 6-3
5. Michaela Kucharova (WVU) def. Donatella Guarnieri (UCF) 6-0, 6-1

6. Tatiana Lipatova (WVU) def. Anya Ambarish (UCF) 6-1, 6-1

Doubles competition

1. Noel Saidenova/Anique Kattenberg (UCF) def. Michaela Kucharova/Momoko Nagato (WVU) 6-2

2. Jantje Tilbuerger/Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Maja Dodik/Maya Bordereau (WVU) 6-4
3. Tatiana Lipatova/Ting-Pei Chang (WVU) def. Donatella Guarnieri/Olivia Lincer (UCF) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (2,4,1,3,5,6)