The UCF women’s tennis team, ranked No. 24 nationally, will open its 2026 dual-match season this Sunday at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. The Knights are scheduled to play a doubleheader, facing the South Florida Bulls at noon and then taking on the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats at 4:30 PM.
UCF enters the spring following a successful fall season that saw two doubles teams make significant progress. Jade Psonka and Marina Gatell reached the quarterfinals of the ITA Southeast Regionals in October. Olivia Bergler and Lauren Seye also advanced to the quarterfinals, narrowly losing to Florida’s Xinyi Nong and Nikola Daubnerova, who are currently ranked No. 17 by ITA. Bergler and Seye ended their fall campaign with a 5-3 record and achieved a No. 50 ranking in the final 2026 ITA doubles standings.
The Knights return as reigning Big 12 regular-season champions after winning their first team conference title last spring. They finished as high as No. 17 nationally during that run and made their tenth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In preseason polls for 2026, UCF was picked to finish second in the Big 12 and started the year ranked No. 24 by ITA.
UCF has maintained a presence in the ITA Poll for fourteen consecutive weeks, peaking at No. 20 on February 12, 2025, before landing at No. 24 on January 7, 2026. Other Big 12 programs featured in this year’s opening rankings include Oklahoma State (No.10), Texas Tech (No.20), and Baylor (No.25).
Five core players from last season return for UCF, including four members of last year’s highly rated recruiting class: Psonka, Bergler, Hannah Rylatt, and Aya El Aouni; returning captain Jantje Tilbuerger is also back under head coach Bryan Koniecko.
Aya El Aouni steps into a leading role after earning ITA Southeast Rookie of the Year honors last season with a singles record of twelve wins against five losses and reaching as high as No.83 nationally.
To strengthen their lineup after Sophia Biolay’s departure, UCF added Daryna Shoshyna from Northern Arizona University; she previously earned unanimous conference MVP honors with a standout singles record of seventeen wins to one loss.
Freshman Lauren Seye is expected to contribute significantly following her performance on Europe’s junior circuit; she concluded her first collegiate fall with an ITA doubles ranking of fifty alongside Bergler.
South Florida brings back five players while adding four newcomers this season; freshman Amelie Drukerova recently won a singles title at November’s UNF Invite while senior Melisa Senli leads USF’s lineup after an eight-win fall campaign.
Bethune-Cookman features three returning athletes and three new additions under head coach Chris Wollett; sophomore Zahara El-Zein returns as a key player after recording five wins on court two during her first year with the Wildcats.
