ORLANDO – The UCF women’s tennis team will play at the USTA National Campus just two more times this regular season, as it closes its home slate this weekend with No. 74 Kansas State and No. 1 Oklahoma State. The Friday match against the Wildcats has an anticipated first serve time of 6 p.m. The Cowgirls come to Orlando Sunday afternoon, with first serve set for noon and Senior Day festivities beginning at 11:30 a.m.
LAST TIME OUT
The Knights picked up their third-consecutive conference win on the road at Houston last Saturday in a 4-2 victory. Donatella Guarnieri led the charge against the Cougars, picking up her first collegiate singles win since joining the team from the UCF club tennis team a month ago. She earned a straight-set 7-6(1), 7-5 victory at court five for the Knights’ second singles point of the afternoon. Anique Kattenberg collected her third singles win in as many matches with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 victory at court four. The redshirt-junior ended the month of March with a 6-2 singles record and has passed her career-high single-season singles win record. Jantje Tilbuerger clinched the match for UCF with a nail-biting three-set win at court three (4-6, 7-5, 6-4). The Ganderkeese, Germany, native leads the team with a nine-match unbeaten streak and was a perfect 6-0 in March.
KNIGHTS IN THE POLLS
Sophia Biolay remained ranked in the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association singles poll, shifting to No. 123 after a three-set triumph at court two against her Houston opponent (7-6[3], 3-6, 6-2). The junior has been in the poll for six straight weeks, a record for Biolay. The team remained steady in the ITA team poll at No. 55.
BIG 12 LEADERS
Tilbuerger has been absolutely dominant in Big 12 play, as she is one of just six Big 12 singles players who are undefeated with at least six wins in conference play. Of her six conference singles wins, five have been in straight sets. She also leads all players at court four with four wins at the position.
Biolay has also been very consistent in conference play, as one of seven players who are undefeated at singles court two. The junior is second in the Big 12 for wins at court two, with five. The only singles player with more wins at the second singles position is Ange Oby Kajuru, the fourth-ranked singles player in the country, who has six.
SCOUTING THE WILDCATS
In the latest ITA team poll, Kansas State jumped a spot to No. 74 after earning back-to-back conference wins for the first time this season. The two wins over Cincinnati and West Virginia moved the Wildcats to 9-9 on the season and 3-7 in Big 12 conference play.
Maralgoo Chogsomjav, Charlotte Keitel and Tereza Polakova lead the team in singles play, with Keitel earning 12 wins in dual-matches play. Chogsomjav is a perfect 6-0 at court five and 3-1 at court four. Polakova and Veronika Kulhava lead in doubles play, racking up six wins at the top doubles position.
The Wildcats opened up conference play with a big 6-1 win over Iowa State at home but lost seven straight after. The team kept it close with Baylor, eventually falling 4-3 to the Bears at home. On the road, K-State is 1-6, with its lone road win coming from a late January 5-2 decision against Wichita State.
Thursday’s match will mark the first time in program history that the Knights and Wildcats face off against each other.
SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
Oklahoma State has been dominant since the jump of the 2024 dual-matches season, currently undefeated with a 21-0 record, marking the best record in program history. The Cowgirls also boast a perfect 10-0 record in conference play, the third time in program history they’ve had double-digit conference wins. They have been ranked No. 1 in the ITA polls for eight consecutive weeks and have five singles players and two doubles pairings in their respective polls. Leading the ranked singles players is junior transfer Kajuru at No. 4, followed by No. 11 Anastasiya Komar, No. 58 Lucia Peyre, No. 63 Safiya Carrington and No. 85 Ayumi Miyamoto. The doubles pairing of Kajuru and Komar check in at No. 4, followed by the tandem of Komar and Raquel Gonzalez appearing at No. 24.
Earlier in the season, OSU earned its first-ever ITA Indoor National Championship title, taking four ranked wins in its march to the championship. The squad also has six wins against top-10 opponents and 11 over top-25 teams. The Cowgirls have won the doubles point in 14 of their last 16 matches, with Komar and Kajuru taking 12 of their last 14 doubles matches at the top spot.
Five OSU players have earned Big 12 Player of the Week honors, including Kajuru who earned her first nod as a Cowgirl last week. Gonzalez, Peyre, Komar and Carrington join her as the other players to earn the award.
UCF leads the all-time record against OSU, 2-1, and has won the last two matchups in 2021 and 2022.