ORLANDO - Ready to defend their home court again after a pair of games on the road, the No. 19 UCF women's tennis team will welcome Cincinnati and West Virginia to the USTA National Campus this weekend. The Knights will take on the Bearcats first on Friday at 6:00 p.m. before closing the weekend with a clash against West Virginia on Sunday at noon.
The Knights are unbeaten in their 10 home games this season; their 7-1 conference record has seen them take down six ranked opponents in the process. Their convincing performances in conference play have kept them as the second highest ranked team in the Big 12 at 19th only behind No. 13 Texas Tech.
LAST TIME OUT
UCF was put to the test away from home last weekend, beginning with a trip to Colorado where they stifled the Buffaloes with a 4-0 win. The newly ranked pairing in Olivia Lincer and Hannah Rylatt quickly proved why they deserve to be No. 30 in the nation after securing the doubles point for the Knights from court one.
Fresh from a perfect sweep and with a tough task ahead, UCF traveled south to take on conference leaders Texas Tech. The Knights lived a very different story in Texas, being handed their first defeat in conference play but just their second of the season.
QUICK HITS
- Senior Sophia Biolay is leading by example for the UCF, holding a streak of 12 straight wins in singles play. The French native was the lone Knight who managed to get a point on the board against Texas Tech last weekend, beating Mariia Hlahola in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.
- Three Knights will make a second appearance against Cincinnati and West Virginia this weekend. Last year, Olivia Lincer took her singles match against the Bearcats with ease from court two, while Biolay helped secure the doubles point against both teams alongside Jantje Tilbuerger from court two as well.
- UCF has now won nine straight doubles matches on court two, eight of which are thanks to Biolay and Aya El Aouni. The pairing shares a dominant 9-3 record together this season and have never lost on court two.
Checking in midway through conference ‘szn 🫡 pic.twitter.com/Pmopb8MWb3
— UCF Women's Tennis (@UCF_WTennis) March 25, 2025
THE OPPONENTS
Cincinnati
The Bearcats registered their first win in conference play last Saturday against Utah in a 4-2 contest. They have only managed to score points in four of their last eight matches.
The Knights walked away with a 4-0 victory a year ago in Ohio, the last time they met. In their four all-time meetings, Cincinnati’s only win against the Knights dates back to 2015.
West Virginia
Suffering a nine-game losing streak, the Mountaineers are hungry to win their first game in conference play. Half of their points scored in conference play came against Utah last weekend in a 4-2 loss. They will travel to Texas to take on Houston on Friday before heading east to Orlando for their bout against UCF on Sunday.
The Knights also held the upper hand in their last match against the Mountaineers a season ago. What was only their third meeting in history ended up in a 5-2 triumph for UCF, despite securing a 4-0 scoreline early on.