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Women's Tennis Comeback Effort Falls Short Versus Baylor, 4-2

by Logan Hasselbach

WACO, Texas – The UCF women’s tennis team battled back hard, but its comeback effort fell short, as it fell 4-2 to No. 32 Baylor Friday night in Waco, Texas. The Knights fought to tie things up at two points apiece but were unable to complete the upset.

The Bears took court one with a quick 6-1 decision to go up early. Jantje Tilbuerger and Sophia Biolay exchanged holds with their Baylor counterparts until falling 5-4 on a break and dropping court two, giving Baylor an early 1-0 lead. The freshmen duo of Olivia Lincer and Mihaela Tsoneva were up 5-4 on court three, about to go on serve, when the doubles point was clinched.

Leaving the doubles point in the past, the Knights took three of the first six sets in singles to start pushing the momentum in their direction. Carrying the energy from the previous match against Texas Tech forward, Tilbuerger came up big with a straight-set 6-3, 6-2 win to put the Knights on the board. The sophomore has won back-to-back singles matches for the first time this season as she finds stability at court four.

 

Anique Kattenberg seemed to find her groove as she settles into the singles position five, picking up her second win of the season. The redshirt junior found her footing with the straight-set 6-4, 6-3 victory, earning the second point of the evening for the Knights.

 

After dropping their first sets, Lincer and Noel Saidenova fought back and took the second set to force a third on courts one and three, respectively. Saidenova won her second set with a dominant 6-1 decision, with Lincer earning a 6-4 victory against her 101st-ranked opponent. Despite the fight that the squad showed, the Bears sealed the match with wins at singles courts one, three and six.

UP NEXT

The Knights look to close out the first roadtrip of conference play in the win column, traveling to Fort Worth, Texas Sunday to take on TCU. First serve against the Horned Frogs is set for 4 p.m. ET.

#32 Baylor 4, #62 UCF 2

Singles competition

#101 Miska Kadleckova (BU) def. Olivia Lincer (UCF) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Liubov Kostenko (BU) vs. #106 Sofia Biolay (UCF) 5-7, 6-3, 5-1, unfinished

Isabella Harvison (BU) def. Noel Saidenova (UCF) 6-2, 1-6, 6-3
Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) def. Zuzanna Kubacha (BU) 6-3, 6-2
Anique Kattenberg (UCF) def. Danielle Tuhten (BU) 6-4, 6-3
Zuzanna Frankowska (BU) def. Mihaela Tsoneva (UCF) 6-1, 5-0, retired

Doubles competition

Zuzanna Kubacha/Sierra Berry (BU) def. Anique Kattenberg/Noel Saidenova (UCF) 6-1
Miska Kadleckova/Danielle Tuhten (BU) def. Jantje Tilbuerger/Sofia Biolay (UCF) 6-4
Isabella Harvison/Liubov Kostenko (BU) vs. Olivia Lincer/Mihaela Tsoneva (UCF) 5-4, unfinished

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