No. 20 UCF defeats Tech in Orlando

The No. 30 Texas Tech Lady Raiders picked up their second conference loss of the season after...

No. 20 UCF defeats Tech in Orlando

Photo provided by Texas Tech Athletics

The No. 30 Texas Tech Lady Raiders picked up their second conference loss of the season after the No. 20-ranked UCF Knights won the match, 4-1, on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus.

The Lady Raiders (13-5, 4-2 Big 12) began doubles in come-from-behind fashion to take the point away from UCF (12-2, 5-1 Big 12). At court three, the Knights pairing of Vladislava Andreevskaya and Jade Psonka defeated Ella Brownback and Polina Sleptsova, 6-2, to give UCF a slight advantage. Tech bounced back when No. 55 Hailey Murphy and Yekaterina Dmitrichenko took down Jantje Tilbuerger and Marina Gatell at the top court. Tech jumped out to a 5-1 lead before UCF won just one more game. The Lady Raiders then held serve to win it, 6-2.

It would be Mariia Hlahola and Elena Daskalova who clinched the doubles point for the Lady Raiders at court two after defeating No. 80-ranked Lauren Seye and Olivia Bergler. Once again, Tech went out to a 4-1 lead before UCF won two-straight games to make it 4-3. The Lady Raider duo claimed the next three games, though, winning the match by a 6-3 score for their first ranked win together as a pair.

UCF was able to retake the momentum, winning five of six first sets in singles. The Knights tied the match at 1-1 when Psonka beat Brownback at court six, 6-2, 6-3. Then UCF took the lead when Andreevskaya defeated Sleptsova at court four by a 6-2, 7-6 (5) score. Bergler made it 3-1 in the Knights’ favor when she took down Murphy at court one, 7-5, 6-3. Clinching the match was Gatell over Hlahola at court three with a 6-4, 6-4 win.

Up next, the Lady Raiders are back at the McLeod Tennis Center with a match against the Utah Utes on Thursday, March 19 at 4 p.m.

RESULTS

#30 Texas Tech 1, #20 UCF 4

Singles

  1. Olivia Bergler (UCF) def. Hailey Murphy (TTU) 7-5, 6-3
  2. Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) vs. Yekaterina Dmitrichenko (TTU) 6-7 (3-7), 4-4, unfinished
  3. Marina Gatell (UCF) def. Mariia Hlahola (TTU) 6-4, 6-4
  4. V. Andreevskaya (UCF) def. Polina Sleptsova (TTU) 6-2, 7-6 (7-5)
  5. Lauren Seye (UCF) vs. Havana Kadi (TTU) 7-5, 1-6, 1-0, unfinished
  6. Jade Psonka (UCF) def. Ella Brownback (TTU) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles

  1. #55 Hailey Murphy/Yekaterina Dmitrichenko (TTU) def. Jantje Tilbuerger/Marina Gatell (UCF) 6-2
  2. Mariia Hlahola/Elena Daskalova (TTU) def. #80 Olivia Bergler/Lauren Seye (UCF) 6-3
  3. V. Andreevskaya/Jade Psonka (UCF) def. Ella Brownback/Polina Sleptsova (TTU) 6-2

Order of finish: Doubles (3, 1, 2); Singles (6, 4, 1, 3)

Release provided by Casey Montalvo Texas Tech Athletics