No. 25 Women's Tennis Drops Tight Road Contest to Arizona, 4-3No. 25 Women's Tennis Drops Tight Road Contest to Arizona, 4-3
Conor Kvatek / UCF Athletics

No. 25 Women's Tennis Drops Tight Road Contest to Arizona, 4-3

by Aiden Kocol

ORLANDO – The No. 25 UCF women’s tennis team fell just short in a tightly contested match against the No. 73 Arizona Wildcats on Friday afternoon, dropping a 4-3 decision at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center.

The Knights move to 9-2 on the season and 2-1 in Big 12 play, while the Wildcats earned their first conference win of the season, improving to 1-2 in league play and 8-7 overall.

Despite the Wildcats taking an early lead by securing the doubles point, Lauren Seye quickly answered for the Knights on court five, earning a point back with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 victory. Arizona, however, responded soon after, claiming court one, 6-2, 6-0.

It wasn’t long, though, until Jantje Tilbuerger then swung the momentum back in favor of the Black and Gold, securing court two with a 6-3, 6-3 win. The victory marked Tilbuerger’s sixth straight on that court, where she has yet to drop a match, knotting the score at two apiece.

After Tanvi Narendran defeated Vladislava Andreevskaya in a tight 7(10)-6(8), 6-0 victory on court four, all eyes shifted to the remaining two courts, where Jade Psonka and Marina Gatell were battling deep into their third sets.

Gatell, who dropped the first set 6-2, rallied to take the second, edging Ciara Moore 7-5 in a tightly contested frame. With momentum on her side, Gatell wasted no time taking care of business in the third set and closed it out convincingly, 6-2.

With the match hanging in the balance, Psonka battled into a third set after winning the first 6–3 but dropping the second in a tight 7(7)-6(1) tiebreak. The final set mirrored the intensity of the second, with Psonka forcing a 6-6 deadlock and another tiebreak.

Despite the sophomore’s strong effort, she fell just short, losing 7(6)-6(4) as the Wildcats escaped with a 4-3 victory.

UP NEXT
The squad will be back in action Sunday, March 8, where they will look to bounce back in a big ranked matchup against the No. 12 Arizona State Sun Devils.

Singles Results

  1. Martyna Ostrzygalo (UA) def Olivia Bergler (UCF) 6-2, 6-0
  2.  Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) def Josie Usereau (UA) 6-3, 6-3
  3. Marina Gatell (UCF) def Ciara Moore (UA) 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
  4. Tanvi Narendran (UA) def Vladislava Andreevskaya (UCF) 7(10)-6(8), 6-0
  5. Lauren Seye (UCF) def Maria Garcia (UA) 6-3, 6-2
  6. Zoya Chulak (UA) def Jade Psonka (UCF) 3-6, 7(7)-6(1), 7(6)-6(4)

Doubles Play

  1.  Zoya Chulak/Ciara Moore (UA) def Jantje Tilbuerger/Marina Gatell (UCF) 6-3
  2.  Josie Usereau/Maria Garcia (UA) def #80 Lauren Seye/Olivia Bergler (UCF) 6-3
  3.  Tanvi Narendran/Martyna Ostrzygalo (UA) vs Jade Psonka/Vladislava Andreevskaya (UCF) 3-3, unfinished 

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.