STATESBORO, Ga - No. 20 ranked UCF defeated the Georgia Southern women's tennis team 6-1 on Friday morning in Orlando at the UCF Collegiate Tennis Center in the first match of the Eagles weekend Florida trip.
Elizabeth Goines came out strong and took the first set of her singles match 7-5 against Nandini Sharma on court six . Sharma tied up the match by taking the second set 4-6. Goines pushed ahead of Sharma and won the third set tiebreaker 10-4 to earn the Eagles lone point of the match.
The Knights earned the doubles point by winning all three doubles matches to take a 1-0 lead over the Eagles. The Knights won the other five singles matches in straight sets.
WHAT ASSISTANT COACH SIDNAY HUCKSAID
"We are impressed with the way the team started their match today against UCF with a strong presence in doubles. Mila and Paula lost in a tough match at 3, 6-4. Unfortunately, the girls came just short of taking the doubles point but we are very excited about the progress we are making in our doubles as its a point of emphasis for our team this year. We just need to continue to learn how to play under pressure and make the most of our opportunities. It's so early in the season and we are very happy with the composure and effort the Eagles played with today, against one of the top teams in the nation. Liz had an impressive performance winning her match at 6 in three sets. She had a tough fall season when it came to three set matches but she is becoming more confident in her ability to close out matches under pressure. We are going to learn from today's match and are excited to continue the weekend as we play UNF and Florida A&M tomorrow."
SINGLES RESULTS
Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) def.
Arianne De Winter 6-2, 6-3
Ksenia Kuznetsova (UCF) def.
Paula Boixader 6-1, 6-0
Rebeka Stolmar (UCF) def.
Emilia Bujan 6-0, 6-3
Marie Mattel (UCF) def.
Mila Hartig 6-4, 6-2
Domenika Turkovic (UCF) def.
Luisa Hrda 6-1, 6-1
Elizabeth Goines def. Nandini Sharma (UCF) 7-5, 4-6 (10-4)
DOUBLES RESULTS
Zaleva/Kuznetsova (UCF) def. Bujan/ De Winter 6-3
Mattel/ Serrano (UCF) def.
Truscott/ Hrda 6-3
Stolmar/ Sharma (UCF) def. Boixader/ Hartig 7-5
NEXT UP
The Eagles are set to play the University of North Florida at 10 A.M. and Florida A&M University at 5 P.M. Saturday, January 19 in Jacksonville, Florida.
