PHILADELPHIA— The University of Pennsylvania women's tennis team fell to No. 20 UCF on Sunday, 6-1, on the USTA National Campus.
The Quakers entered the day with a critical lineup change due to injury, altering the doubles pairings. Despite the return of No. 57 Esha Velaga, No. 50 Sabine Rutlauka was missed on the courts as the Red and Blue came out on the wrong side of the doubles split. Finishing all three matches, Central Florida took the early lead, 1-0.
No. 98 Sophia Biolay increased the Knights' lead with her two-set victory over Eileen Wang, but Maya Urata cut the lead with her victory after Jantje Tilbuerger retired. Gavriella Smith then fell to Jade Psonka, putting the Red and Blue down, 3-1, with three matches left to finish.
No. 57 Esha Velaga dropped set one to No. 122 Aya El Aouni, but fought back in set two to force a third. Meanwhile, Lara Stojanovski lost in two sets to Olivia Bergler, and Liza Tkachenko fell to Hannah Rylatt. The match already clinched for the Knights, El Aouni and Velaga continued their nationally-ranked tilt through the third set. Ultimately, Valaga ran out of steam, dropping set three 1-6 to El Aouni.
Doubles
- Eileen Wang/Esha Velaga (PENN) def. Sophia Biolay/Aya El Aouni (UCF) 6-4
- Hannah Rylatt/Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) def. Lara Stojanovski/Gavriella Smith (PENN) 7-6 (7-0)
- Olivia Bergler/Jade Psonka (UCF) def. Liza Tkachenko/Maya Urata (PENN) 6-2
Order of Finish: 3, 1, 2*
Singles
- #122 Aya El Aouni (UCF) def. #57 Esha Velaga (PENN) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
- #98 Sophia Biolay (UCF) def. Eileen Wang (PENN) 6-2, 6-2
- Olivia Bergler (UCF) def. Lara Stojanovski (PENN) 6-3, 6-3
- Jade Psonka (UCF) def. Gavriella Smith (PENN) 6-1, 6-2
- Hannah Rylatt (UCF) def. Liza Tkachenko (PENN) 6-4, 6-3
- Maya Urata (PENN) def. Jantje Tilbuerger (UCF) 6-2, 0-1, RET
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 4, 3, 5*, 1
Up Next
Penn will host Lehigh on Friday (Feb. 28) in the Hecht Tennis Center at 11:00 a.m.
For the latest on Penn women's tennis, follow @PennWomensTennis on Instagram, @PennWTennis on X (formerly Twitter), and on the web at PennAthletics.com.
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