No. 20 Women's Tennis Set to Commence Big 12 Tournament in Quarterfinal vs BYUNo. 20 Women's Tennis Set to Commence Big 12 Tournament in Quarterfinal vs BYU

No. 20 Women's Tennis Set to Commence Big 12 Tournament in Quarterfinal vs BYU

by Aiden Kocol
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ORLANDO – The No. 20 women’s tennis team is set to begin postseason play this week, returning to its familiar home at the USTA National Campus for the Big 12 Tournament.

The tournament began earlier this morning and will run through Saturday, April 18. After earning the No. 1 seed for the first time since joining the conference ahead of the 2023-24 season, the Knights will open play on Thursday with a bye into the quarterfinals. There, they will face the BYU Cougars, who advanced by winning their first-round matchup against Utah.

LAST TIME OUT
The Black and Gold enter the tournament with momentum, having secured their second consecutive regular-season title this past weekend with road victories over Cincinnati and West Virginia. The Knights closed the regular season with an impressive 11-2 conference record and an 18-3 overall mark, including a perfect 9-0 record at home.

The squad made quick work of the Cincinnati Bearcats in its first matchup of the weekend on Friday, rolling to a 4-0 victory. Just two days later, the team traveled to Morgantown to face West Virginia with history on the line, aiming to become the first team in UCF Athletics history to win back-to-back Big 12 titles—and they delivered.

After overwhelming the Mountaineers in doubles action to take the advantage, Jantje Tilbuerger continued to keep the pressure on in singles, cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 win to double UCF’s advantage. Marina Gatell followed with a poised showing on court three, taking the first set 6-2 before holding off a late push to secure a 7-5 second set, putting the Knights within one point of the title.

The Mountaineers refused to fold, though, responding with wins on courts four and six to tighten the match and shift the pressure onto UCF. But Psonka delivered. Earning her fourth clinching point of the season, she edged a tense first set in a tiebreak before taking control in the second, closing out a 7(7)-6(2), 6-4 victory on court five to seal both the match and the Big 12 crown for the Knights.

QUICK HITS

  • Jantje Tilbuerger earned her first individual ranking of the season in the latest ITA Poll, coming in at No. 115 after compiling an impressive 15-1 record in dual match play. Tilbuerger, who has anchored the top of the Knights’ lineup all season, closed the regular season on a 12-match winning streak, including a perfect 10-0 mark on court two. She’s clinched five matches for the Black and Gold and earned a 7-7 doubles mark.
  • For the fourth time under head coach Bryan Koniecko, the Knights completed a perfect regular season at home, winning all nine matches at the USTA National Campus. Last season, the team posted a 13-0 mark at home. In 2019, UCF went 15-0 in the regular season before adding three more wins to capture the AAC Tournament title. In 2021, the Knights finished 11-0 at home and, as they did two years earlier, carried that momentum into the postseason to extend their record to 14-0.
  • The Knights checked in at No. 20 in the latest ITA Poll, making them one of three Big 12 teams in the top 25, alongside No. 11 Arizona State and No. 23 TCU. Although the Sun Devils are ranked higher nationally, UCF holds the tiebreaker after upsetting Arizona State 4-3 on the road earlier this season.
  • Last season, Koniecko and his squad made history, becoming the first team in UCF Athletics history to win a Big 12 Championship title. Over the weekend, they cemented their legacy even further, battling to a 4-2 victory over West Virginia to become the first program in UCF’s Big 12 era to secure back-to-back conference titles.
  • Last year at the Big 12 Tournament, taking place in Waco, Texas, Koniecko and his squad advanced to the championship game as the No. 2 seed before ultimately falling to top-seeded and co-regular-season champion Texas Tech.

THE OPPONENT

BYU
BYU returned a veteran core this season, led by lone senior Kendall Kovick, who holds a 7-13 mark on court two for the Cougars. Returning junior, Gracie Levelston, has become the Cougars' anchor on the top court, earning an impressive 13-4 mark. Among the new faces, freshman Bella Lewis has proven herself as a nice addition, holding down the back courts with an 11-4 mark between courts No. 5 and No. 6. 

The Cougars finished conference play with a 7-6 record and entered the tournament as the nine seed. Despite ending the regular season on a three-match losing skid, the Cougs bounced back in the opening round of the tournament, fighting their way to a gritty 4-2 win over Utah to advance to the quarterfinals. 

The Knights previously faced BYU earlier this season, hosting the Cougars in their Big 12 opener on Feb. 26, 2026. UCF took control early by securing the doubles point and never looked back. Although BYU managed to claim one court, the Knights won the remaining matches in straight sets to cruise to a 4-1 victory.