ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) – Seniors Elvira Serrot (Madrid, Spain) and Kenza Belbacha (Casablanca, Morocco) played their final home match on Wednesday at the UCF Tennis Complex and guided the Knights to a 7-0 victory against Jacksonville. The Knights won all six singles matches to boost their record to 10-8 on the season.
Singles play began the match, which was interrupted after 40 minutes for a rain delay. Inclement weather prevented the teams from playing for almost two hours.
“I am proud of the team today on how they handled the difficult circumstances,” said UCF head coach Stephanie Nickitas. “It is always good when you have a little bit of adversity and they dealt with it well. We kept our emotions and energy high. It was a great way to send off the seniors. Elvira had a good day and Kenza did a fantastic job in doubles.”
With the sun shining down on the courts, freshman Alexis Rodriguez (Madrid, Spain) quickly put away Iva Jaresova at No. 4, 6-0, 6-1. Taking a 2-0 lead, junior Katie Orletsky (Titusville, Fla.) cruised by Fernanda Carrero at No. 6, 6-1, 6-0. Over at No. 5, freshman Christy Core (Charlotte, N.C.) tallied a 6-3, 6-1 victory over Virginia Iwinski building the Knights a 3-0 advantage. UCF locked up the match when Serrot, the four-year player, took down Juliana Umeki with a 6-3, 6-4 triumph at the No. 3 position.
The Knights continued to dominate singles play as sophomore Jenny Frisell (Gothenburg, Sweden) breezed by Tati Soldatova, 6-1, 6-3, at No. 1. Freshman Andrea Yacaman (Cartenga, Columbia) used a 6-2, 6-3 defeat over Ella Yusupova at No. 2, allowing UCF to take all the singles matches.
After sweeping singles play and no rain in the area, Belbacha and Orletsky rapidly dissected Iwinski and Yusupova in an 8-1 win in the No. 3 match. The No. 50-ranked tandem of Frisell and Serrot ensured that the Knights would blank the Dolphins with an 8-3 victory over Jaresova and Soldatora on the No. 1 court.
With the 7-0 blanking of Jacksonville, the Knights extended their advantage to 26-3 in the all-time series.
On Saturday, UCF heads to North Florida for a noon showdown. The match with the Ospreys will be the eighth all-time with the Knights grasping a slim 4-3 lead.
For the latest news on the Knights, log on to www.UCFAthletics.com – the official site for UCF varsity sports. The site, which also contains ticket and Golden Knights Club donor information, is also the home of UCF’s new online apparel store. Also visit www.UCFPhotos.com, the exclusive fan source for UCF action sports pictures.
Tennis Match Results
Jacksonville vs UCF
4/1/2009 at Orlando, Fla.
UCF 7, Jacksonville 0
Singles competition
1. Jenny Frisell (UCF) def. Tatiana Soldatova (JU) 6-1, 6-2
2. Andrea Yacaman (UCF) def. Elvira Yusupova (JU) 6-2, 6-3
3. Elvira Serrot (UCF) def. Juliana Umeki (JU) 6-3, 6-4
4. Alexis Rodriguez (UCF) def. Iva Jaresova (JU) 6-0, 6-1
5. Christy Core (UCF) def. Virginia Iwinski (JU) 6-3, 6-1
6. Katie Orletsky (UCF) def. Fernanda Carrero (JU) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles competition
1. #50 Jenny Frisell/Elvira Serrot (UCF) def. Iva Jaresova/Tatiana Soldatova (JU) 8-3
2. Juliana Umeki/Fernanda Carrero (JU) def. Alexis Rodriguez/Andrea Yacaman (UCF) 8-7 (9-7)
3. Kenza Belbacha/Katie Orletsky (UCF) def. Virginia Iwinski/Elvira Yusupova (JU) 8-1
Match Notes:
Jacksonville 9-10
UCF 10-8
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (4,6,5,3,1,2)
