Women's Tennis Appears at No. 21 in Latest ITA PollWomen's Tennis Appears at No. 21 in Latest ITA Poll

Women's Tennis Appears at No. 21 in Latest ITA Poll

by Aiden Kocol
Full April 21 Poll

ORLANDO – After making their second consecutive appearance in the Big 12 Tournament championship match, the UCF women’s tennis team has checked in at No. 21 in the latest ITA Poll, as announced Tuesday morning by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).

The Knights earned a share of the regular-season title, finishing atop the conference with an 11-2 record. That performance secured UCF its first-ever No. 1 seed in the Big 12 Tournament and a bye into Thursday’s quarterfinals. There, the Black and Gold faced eight-seed BYU and claimed a 4-2 victory, building early momentum by capturing the doubles point.

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Freshman Marina Gatell delivered the clinching point in a nearly three-hour dual. After dropping a tightly contested first set, she rallied for a 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 comeback win. The victory marked her sixth match-clincher of the season and improved her individual record to 14 wins.

With the victory, UCF advanced to the semifinals for a rematch against Arizona, one of only two teams to defeat the Knights during the regular season. This time, UCF flipped the result, earning a 4-2 victory. Despite losing the doubles point, the Knights responded with singles wins on courts six, two, and three. It was Jantje Tilbuerger on court one who ultimately sealed the match, though.

The senior captain, ranked No. 115 nationally, rallied for a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 win to clinch the match and send UCF to the championship for the second straight season.

In the title match, however, No. 23 TCU proved too strong, defeating the Knights 4-1 to claim its first Big 12 Conference Tournament title. Despite the setback, UCF remains well-positioned for an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, which begins May 1 at campus host sites. Tournament selections, including seeding and hosts, will be announced on April 27 at 5:30 p.m.

April 21, 2026 Top-25

  1. Auburn
  2. Georgia
  3. Texas A&M
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Ohio State
  6. UNC
  7. Virginia
  8. Texas
  9. LSU
  10. NC State
  11. Pepperdine
  12. USC
  13. Vanderbilt
  14. Florida
  15. Arizona State
  16. Duke
  17. Tennessee
  18. Michigan
  19. UCLA
  20. TCU
  21. UCF
  22. California, Berkley
  23. Washington
  24. Clemson
  25. SMU