UCF Knights Women's Tennis: Aiming for the Top in the Big 12 Conference

The UCF Knights Women’s Tennis team is striving for continued success. After sharing a Big 12 title last season, the team, led by head coach Bryan Koniecko, is determined to claim an outright Big 12 title.

Last Season's Achievements

The UCF Knights Women’s Tennis team had a successful previous season, finishing with a (23-4, 12-1 Big 12) record. The Knights shared the Big 12 regular season title, marking the first time a UCF program achieved this in the Big 12 era. They achieved their best conference record in program history. The Knights went 17-0 when they won the doubles point, demonstrating the importance of strong doubles play. They outscored the rest of the Big 12, 48-11, aside from Oklahoma State and Texas Tech, the teams they shared the title with. The Knights' season ended with a loss to #15 Texas Tech in the Big 12 Tournament and a loss to #12 NC State in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament. Despite a main starting lineup consisting mostly of freshmen, UCF came just one win shy of tying for the most wins in a single season in program history.

Fall Recap

The fall season provided an opportunity for UCF’s underclassmen to gain more match experience. While Aya El Aouni and Daryna Shoshyna did not participate, other players showcased their skills. Lauren Seye, one of the team's freshmen, showed promise in singles play, going 8-2. Two doubles pairs, each including one of the team’s two freshmen, reached the quarterfinals at the ITA Southeast Regionals. No Knights made it past the Round of 32 in singles play at the ITA Southeast Regionals.

This Season's Outlook

The team is ranked #24 in the ITA Rankings and was picked 2nd in the Big 12 Preseason Coaches Poll. Despite being on three years’ probation and losing their head coach due to improper contact with recruits, Oklahoma State was voted as the favorite to finish at the top of the Big 12 this season. The only first-place vote to not go to Oklahoma State actually went to Arizona State. This season marks the first time the Knights and Sun Devils face off as conference opponents. Texas Tech and Baylor are also expected to be strong contenders, rounding out the top five. UCF will host the Big 12 Tournament at the USTA National Campus, providing a home-court advantage in the postseason.

Leadership

Bryan Koniecko is in his 10th season at UCF (3rd as Director of Tennis). Koniecko has become the longest-tenured head coach in program history, having completed nine full seasons, and also has the most wins by a head coach in program history at 148, surpassing Gail Falkenberg’s 132. Koniecko aims to elevate the program and attract more fans from Orlando.

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Koniecko is once again faced with a predominantly young squad this season as he tries to make a return to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2021.

Key Players

Aya El Aouni, a Morocco native, was a standout freshman last season. Splitting time between courts 1 and 2, she ended up going 12-5 last spring in singles, on her way to an All-Big 12 First Team nod, and went 13-5 in doubles with Sophia Biolay, earning her an All-Big 12 Second Team nod. She was also named the Southeast region’s Rookie of the Year by the ITA last season.

What to Watch For

The dual match begins with doubles play, in which three matches are played between a pair of players from each team. The school that wins two of three doubles matches gets one point. After doubles play, six singles play matches are played between members of each school, each worth one point. The school with the most points after all the matches are played is the victor. However, it is not uncommon for the dual match to end early once one team reaches four points, as it becomes mathematically impossible for the other team to come back.

Koniecko noted that an athlete’s sophomore season can be pivotal, with players either striving for further improvement or becoming complacent. The Knights need to be wary of potential upsets, particularly on the road, to maintain control of their chances to win an outright Big 12 title. The Knights came close to getting upset in conference play last season in a road matchup against #67 BYU, in which they escaped, 4-3. This season, they’ll have a trip out to Arizona to face a Wildcat and Sun Devil squads that are both projected to finish in the top half of the conference.

Departures

Sophia Biolay, one of two team captains last season, finished off her UCF career on a high note with 25 total wins in singles play, tied for the sixth-most in a single season in program history. She is also the first Knight of the Big 12 era to be named All-Big 12 First Team in singles play twice.

Olivia Lincer stood out in her two seasons as a Knight. As a freshman, she earned the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year honor, then followed it up by becoming the Big 12’s Player of the Year in 2025 after going 15-2 in singles play last spring and in the Top 100 of the ITA women’s singles ranking. She ended up transferring to another Big 12 school, Oklahoma State, the school that will also be the home of her younger sister, Karolina, after she officially signed with the Cowgirls in November.

New Additions

Daryna Shoshyna, a senior transfer from Northern Arizona, brings experience to the team. Shoshyna started college early, leaving her hometown of Kharkiv, Ukraine, at 16-years-old in the wake of the city being at the center of a battle during the early stages of the Russian invasion in early 2022. She spent her first three seasons at Northern Arizona and is coming off getting unanimously named Big Sky MVP after going 17-1 in singles play and 10-6 in doubles play. Koniecko said Shoshyna wanted to be a part of “big-time college athletics” for her senior year and that she is “such a warrior and improving for us.”

Team Roster

The roster includes a mix of players from different backgrounds:

2 Freshman
4 Sophomores
0 Juniors
2 Senior
0 Americans
9 International Players (France, Spain, England, Poland, Germany, Morocco, Ukraine, Belgium, Kyrgyzstan)

The team members are:

Vladislava Andreevskaya (So., Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan)
Olivia Bergler (So., Gliwice, Poland): Singles: 17-6 , Doubles: 12-9 (Spring Stats); Singles: 8-4, Doubles: 6-3 (Fall Stats)
Aya El Aouni (So., Casablanca, Morrocco): Singles: 12-5 , Doubles: 16-7 (Spring Stats)
Marina Gatell (Fr., Mallorca, Spain)
Jade Psonka (So., Amiens, France): Singles: 10-6 , Doubles: 9-6 (Spring Stats); Singles: 7-3 , Doubles: 6-5 (Fall Stats)
Hannah Rylatt (So., St. Helens, England): Singles: 13-10 , Doubles: 11-11 (Spring Stats); Singles: 1-1, Doubles: 2-1 (Fall Stats)
Lauren Seye (Fr., Drongen, Belgium): Singles: 8-2 , Doubles: 6-4 (Fall Stats)
Daryna Shoshyna (Sr., Kharkiv, Ukraine): Singles: 17-1 , Doubles: 10-6 (Northern Arizona Stats)
Jantje Tilbuerger (Sr., Ganderkesee, Germany): Singles: 2-2 , Doubles: 2-1 (Spring Stats); Singles: 4-2, Doubles: N/A (Fall Stats)

Schedule Overview

UCF will primarily remain in Florida until March 6, even with three away matches. The Knights will host both Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, who they shared the Big 12 regular season title with last season, on March 15 and April 5, respectively. The match against the Cowgirls will mark Olivia Lincer’s return to the USTA National Campus. The USTA National Campus will also host the Big 12 Tournament.

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Recent Schedule and Results:

Sun, Jan 18 vs. Match Points & Mimosas South Fla.: Win 4-1
Sun, Jan 18 vs. Bethune-Cookman: Canceled
Sat, Jan 24 vs. #18 UCLA: Loss 1-4
Sun, Jan 25 vs. Marshall: Win 4-0
Fri, Jan 30 at Florida St.: Win 4-1
Fri, Feb 13 at FIU: Win 4-1
Sun, Feb 15 at Miami: Win 4-2
Fri, Feb 20 vs. Nona Knights Happy Hour #72 Florida Atlantic: Win 4-0
Sun, Feb 22 vs. Match Points & Mimosas Stetson: Win 6-1
Thu, Feb 26 vs. Big 12 Conference Opener #29 BYU: Win 4-1
Sat, Feb 28 vs. #35 Utah: Win 4-0
Fri, Mar 6 at #43 Arizona
Sun, Mar 8 at #6 Arizona St.
Fri, Mar 13 vs. Nona Knights Happy Hour #74 Colorado
Sun, Mar 15 vs. Match Points & Mimosas #23 Texas Tech
Fri, Mar 20 at Iowa St.
Sun, Mar 22 at Kansas
Sat, Mar 28 at #47 Houston
Fri, Apr 3 vs. Nona Knights Happy Hour Kansas St.
Sun, Apr 5 vs. Match Points & Mimosas #26 Oklahoma St.
Fri, Apr 10 at Cincinnati
Sun, Apr 12 at West Virginia

Senior captain Jantje Tilbuerger was named the Big 12 Player of the Week on Feb. 17, after delivering a flawless performance at the No. 2 singles and No. 1 doubles positions, going a perfect 4-0 combined against FIU and Miami. UCF’s top-25 streak was snapped last week, slotting in at No. 39 in the Feb. 19 ITA Poll. Olivia Bergler and Lauren Seye have emerged as one of the team’s most reliable doubles pairs early this season, consistently delivering decisive victories, highlighted by a 6-0 sweep of Florida State’s M.B. Deatherage and Cade Cricchio. Undefeated so far, they slotted in at No. 61 in the latest ITA Doubles Rankings (Feb. The Knights have now won 16-straight matches on their home USTA courts.

Upcoming Opponents

BYU: BYU returned a veteran core this season, led by lone senior Kendall Kovick, who boasts an 8-2 mark on court two for the Cougars. Kovick, alongside YuYun Chen, also dominates court No. 2 in doubles action, holding a 5-2 record there. Among the new faces, freshman Bella Lewis has proven herself as a nice addition early in the season, holding down the back courts with a 9-1 mark between courts No. 5 and No. 6.
Utah: The Utes return three seniors in Dylan Lolofie, Kaila Barksdale, and Emma Valletta, bringing veteran leadership to the lineup. Among the upperclassmen core is junior Emma Kamper, who has been the Utes' anchor on the top court during non-con action, boasting a 6-2 mark. Utah is led by second-year head coach Ruth Allen, a Utah native, former Utah All-American, and Hall of Famer.

All-Quarter Century Team

Singles

Valeriya Zeleva (2019-2022): 2x AAC Player of the Year (2019 & 2021), 2x Unanimous All-AAC (2019 & 2021), 2 NCAA Singles Tournament Berths (2019 & 2021), reached as high as #17 in the nation
Rebeka Stolmar (2017-2021): 3x All-AAC (2018, 2019 (unanimous) & 2021), 2021 NCAA Singles Tournament Berth, reached as high as #30 in the nation
Marie Mattel (2019-2023): 2x Unanimous All-AAC (2022-2023), 2 NCAA Singles Tournament Berths (2022-2023), reached as high as #31 in the nation
Sophia Biolay (2021-2025): 2x All-Big 12 First Team Singles (2024-2025), earned an at-large bid for 2024 NCAA Singles Tournament, reached as high as #35 in the nation.
Evgeniya Levashova (2019-2022): 2x All-AAC (2021-2022), 2021 AAC Most Outstanding Player, reached as high as #37 in the nation
Monica Matias (2014-2018): 2x All-AAC (2016-2017), Most career singles victories in program history, part of 2018 NCAA Tournament Team

Doubles

Rebeka Stolmar & Marie Mattel (2019-2021): First ITA All-Americans in program history (2020). 2nd-most wins by doubles pair in program history (35), Reached as high as #3 in the nation.
Valeriya Zeleva & Ksenia Kuznetsova (2019-2021): Qualified for 2019 NCAA Women’s Doubles Tournament, Only UCF entry to win a match in NCAA Singles or Doubles Tournaments, both named to All-AAC team in 2019 & 2021, most wins by a doubles pair in program history (37), ranked as high as #7 in the nation.
Jenny Frissel & Elvira Serrot (2007-2009): Named All-CUSA First Team Doubles in 2009, went 12-4 together on No.

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