No. 18 Women's Tennis Concludes Regular Season with Two-Game Road SwingNo. 18 Women's Tennis Concludes Regular Season with Two-Game Road Swing
Conor Kvatek / UCF Athletics

No. 18 Women's Tennis Concludes Regular Season with Two-Game Road Swing

Knights Look to Secure Second Consecutive Big 12 Regular-Season Title

by Aiden Kocol
Cincinnati Live Stats

ORLANDO – After securing an undefeated home record for the second consecutive season this past weekend, the No. 18 women’s tennis team will hit the road for a two-match swing to close out the regular season.

The Black and Gold begin in Cincinnati, where they will face the Bearcats on Friday, April 10, at 1 PM at the Trabert-Talbert Tennis Center. They will then travel to the Mountain State to take on the West Virginia Mountaineers on Sunday, April 12, at 10 a.m. EST.

BIG 12 TITLE RACE
A three-way tie atop the conference standings sets the stage for a thrilling end to the regular season. The Knights, sitting at 9-2, are joined by No. 20 TCU and No. 11 Arizona State, with each team heading out on the road to close the year. With no tiebreaker in place, any team that sweeps its final two matches will claim the Big 12 regular-season title.

Arizona State, whose only conference losses have come against the Knights and TCU, heads west in search of a Utah road sweep against No. 27 BYU and No. 26 Utah. Meanwhile, TCU faces a challenging road stretch, beginning in Lubbock, Texas, against No. 33 Texas Tech before traveling to Boulder, Colo., to take on No. 66 Colorado in hopes of securing at least a share of the title.

LAST TIME OUT
|After Oklahoma State forfeited its Sunday, April 5, match against the Knights, Friday’s matchup with Kansas State served as the team’s home finale. The Knights wasted no time sending their seniors out with a bang, defeating the Wildcats 4-1.

The Knights set the tone early, claiming the doubles point with wins on courts two and three.  Jade Psonka and Vladislava Andreevskaya were the first to strike, earning a commanding 6-2 result on court three to give the Knights an edge. The tandem of Olivia Bergler and Lauren Seye decided it, though, holding steady on court two for a 6-4 victory.

In singles play, UCF quickly took control, with Marina Gatell wasting no time putting the Knights up 2-0 with a dominant 6-2, 6-1 win on court three. The Wildcats continued to fight back, holding an edge on the top courts, but their efforts were soon stifled as Seye’s 6-3, 6-4 decision on court six inched the Knights closer to victory. 

Though the Wildcats claimed their lone point after Andreevskaya retired due to injury, it proved inconsequential. Psonka delivered the clincher with a 6-1, 6-3 victory on court five, sealing the team win, securing a perfect home record for the Knights, and capping a memorable Senior Night.

QUICK HITS

  • 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.
  • Jantje Tilbuerger is currently riding an 11-match winning streak, owning an impressive 14-1 dual-match record. The senior remains undefeated on court two with a perfect 10-0 record, delivering five match-clinching wins for the Black and Gold in dual-match play.
  • The Knights moved up to No. 18 in the latest ITA Poll, marking their highest ranking of the season and placing them among the top teams in the conference. One of 12 Big 12 programs featured in the latest rankings, they are joined by No. 11 Arizona State, No. 20 TCU, No. 26 Utah, No. 27 BYU, No. 29 Arizona, No. 33 Texas Tech, No. 34 Baylor, No. 36 Houston, No. 37 Oklahoma State, No. 39 Kansas and No. 66 Colorado.
  • Both Marina Gatell and Jade Psonka have now reached 11 dual‑match victories this season. Psonka has posted an impressive 11-2 record while anchoring the back courts for the Knights. Gatell, a freshman, has matched that 11-2 mark across courts three and four, while also clinching five victories for the squad.

THE OPPONENTS

Cincinnati
The Bearcats, led by their 11th-year head coach, enter the weekend with an 8-12 overall record and have faced a challenging stretch in conference play, posting a 1-10 mark. Their lone conference win came against Kansas State on Feb. 27 in their league opener. Cincinnati heads into Friday’s matchup looking to snap a 10-match losing streak.

History with Kansas State
All-Time: 4-1
Home: 3-0
Away: 1-0
Neutral: 0-1
Under Koniecko: 1-0
Last Match: March 28, 2025 (W, 4-1) 

West Virginia
Head coach Miha Lisac enters his 13th season leading the Mountaineers, holding a 90-156 record during his tenure. With just three returners on this year’s roster, the team has been in a rebuilding phase, led by sophomore Laura Villanueva Morilla, who posted an 8-9 singles record last season. The Mountaineers recently earned their first conference win of the dual-match season, defeating Cincinnati, 4-0, on March 28.

History with WVU
All-Time: 3-1
Home: 2-1
Away: 1-0
Neutral: N/A
Under Koniecko: 1-0
Last Match: March 30, 2025 (W, 4-0)