ORLANDO - After a pair of strong victories against Florida State and Columbia, the UCF women's tennis team has launched to 20th in Wednesday's ITA Rankings. In their promotion, the Knights rank second among Big 12 programs, leading No. 23 Texas Tech and No. 25 Baylor.
With the ranking, the Black and Gold sit in their highest position since Feb. 2023 when they featured at 14th en route to an NCAA tournament bid.
The jump from 23rd in the rankings came after a true test on the weekend with a last-minute doubleheader. It was freshmen to the rescue on both occasions with Olivia Bergler sparking the comeback against Florida State and Columbia, setting up Jade Psonka to put the match away against the Seminoles, and Aya El Aouni to complete the second comeback against the Lions.
In her debut season, El Aouni has yet to drop a set in her singles career at UCF with a 3-0 record so far this year. Sophomore Olivia Lincer and freshmen Jade Psonka and Olivia Bergler also remain undefeated in singles play this season.
The Knights will hope to prove their strength in doubles play to keep climbing up the rankings. Head coach Bryan Koniecko swapped around pairings against Columbia, moving on from the original lineup that won the Knights’ only doubles point this season in their opener against Georgia Southern.
UCF will play at home again this Sunday, February 2nd, against in-state rivals FIU. The action is set to kickoff at the USTA National Campus at 12 p.m. ET.