Fresh off a Big 12 championship season, UCF women’s tennis is set to return to the courts this week, beginning the season with a Sunday doubleheader against South Florida and Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 18. Here’s everything you need to know about the No. 24 Knights before the 2026 season gets underway.
LAST RALLY: 2024-25 QUICK REVIEW
During the 2024-25 campaign, head coach Bryan Koniecko and his squad made history, winning UCF Athletics’ first-ever Big 12 team championship, claiming a share of the Big 12 regular-season title in just the Knights' second season in the conference. The squad was 24-4 overall and 12-1 in conference play, establishing itself among the conference’s elite, while posting a perfect 13-0 home record at the USTA National Campus.
On the national stage, the Black and Gold climbed as high as No. 17 in the ITA rankings and earned a bid to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 2 seed in the Raleigh Regional. The Knights ultimately fell to national seed NC State in the second round, but still finished the season ranked No. 21 nationally. The appearance marked the program’s fifth NCAA Tournament berth under Koniecko and the 10th in program history.
During the campaign, Koniecko, then in his ninth season at the helm, became the winningest coach in program history. His career win total rose to 148, giving him a 70.5 winning percentage so far in his tenure with the Black and Gold.
After earning their stripes among the nation’s best last season, the Knights have already appeared in this year’s national rankings, slotting in No. 24 in the ITA preseason poll, while being picked to finish second in the Big 12 in the preseason coaches’ poll.
RETURNING KNIIGHTS
Leading the group of five returners is veteran Knight Jantje Tilbuerger. Now entering her senior year at UCF, Tilbuerger has been a fixture in the Black and Gold's lineup throughout her collegiate career. Although she missed much of last season due to injury, during the 2023-24 campaign, she anchored courts three and four for the squad, posting a 13-8 overall record. She found her rhythm down the stretch of the program’s inaugural Big 12 season, closing the year on a 12-match unbeaten streak from Feb. 25 to April 12. Tilbuerger will be looking to close out her collegiate career on a similar high note, acting as a team captain for the second consecutive season.
After bringing in the nation’s second-ranked recruiting class just a season ago, and returning four of the five players from that group, Koniecko will rely on his younger core to provide a competitive edge this season. Among those returning sophomores is Aya El Aouni, the reigning ITA Southeast Rookie of the Year.
During the 2025 spring season, El Aouni compiled a 12-5 singles record and a 16-7 mark in doubles, establishing herself as one of the nation’s most dominant competitors and earning her All-Big 12 Freshman Team recognition as well as Doubles Second Team honors. Competing at the top of the Knights’ singles lineup, El Aouni will look to anchor the Knights’ front courts again this season as she posted a 5-1 record on court one and a 6-4 mark on court two, while climbing as high as No. 85 in the ITA singles rankings.
Jade Psonka, Hannah Rylatt, and Oliva Bergler round out the elite returning class. Bergler, who posted an 18-7 overall record last season, is coming off an impressive fall campaign in which she earned her first collegiate doubles ranking, slotting in at No. 50 in the final ITA doubles ranking of 2026 alongside freshman Lauren Seye after the duo went 5-3 during fall action.
Meanwhile, Psonka is expected to factor heavily into the Knights’ efforts to replace former standout Sophia Biolay at court three. After competing primarily on the back courts last season, Psonka finished with a 15-11 overall record and provides lineup flexibility and experience in the middle positions. Rylatt should also be an important piece in that transition, particularly in doubles, where she earned Big 12 First Team honors at the conclusion of last season.
NEWCOMER KNIGHTS
Looking to add experienced leadership to a young squad, Koniecko bolstered the roster with the addition of transfers Daryna Shosyna and Vladislava Andreevskaya.
Senior Shosyna put together three dominant seasons at Northern Arizona, highlighted by a unanimous conference MVP honor after posting a 17-1 singles record and a perfect 8-0 mark in Big Sky play. Primarily competing on the top two courts, Shosyna was especially effective on court one, where she went 9-1, strengthening UCF’s options at the top of the lineup. Meanwhile, Andreevskaya, a W15 Monastir doubles champion, arrives from a Russian university and brings a top-600 women’s and top-150 junior singles rankings, serving as an asset in both singles and doubles.
In addition to the experienced reinforcements, Koniecko also looks to continue his tradition of bringing in talented freshmen, adding Marina Gatell and Lauren Seye to the 2025-26 roster.
Seye, a Drongen, Belgium native, has built a promising junior career across Europe’s ITF circuit, highlighted by a trip to the J200 Novi Sad semifinals in August 2024. Seye is also already showing promise to become one of the Knights' best doubles assets, leaving 2025 with an ITA ranking of 50, after an impressive 5-3 fall campaign alongside Bergler. Gatell also shows early potential as well, entering with experience in high-level tournaments such as the J200/J100 Girls and the W5. Gatell also has an impressive fall campaign to build from, going 7-4 throughout the early tournaments.
LOOKING AHEAD
Koniecko and his squad will look to build on last season’s success as they open the 2026 campaign at home on Jan. 18 with an exciting doubleheader. The Knights will first face longtime rival South Florida at noon, before closing the day against Bethune-Cookman at 4:30 p.m.
The Knights will officially begin Big 12 play with a duo of home matches, facing BYU on Thursday, Feb. 26, and Utah on Saturday, Feb. 28. You can view the full 2026 dual-match schedule here.
ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.