ORLANDO, Fla. – Charleston Southern fell 4-0 Friday to the No. 9 national seed UCF Friday in first round action of the 2021 NCAA Women's Tennis Championships ending their historic 2021 season.

Zoe Cauthen and Tiffany Pyritz made history in the hard-fought Charleston Southern (10-8) loss taking the first court in the program's two-time NCAA appearance with a 6-4 win on the second doubles flight.

Ninth-ranked UCF (19-4) kept their home court win streak alive as they took the first and third doubles court then three singles flights to close out the match.

Friday's loss ends a magical season for the Bucs who went a perfect 8-0 in Big South play including the Big South Championships and earning the program's second NCAA Tournament appearance. A record 10 Big South postseason accolades also came during the Bucs' 2021 run with five student-athletes receiving recognition.

UCF moves on to host No. 20 Miami in the Round of 32 Saturday night from the USTA National Campus in Orlando.
 
How It Happened

• UCF got the day started with a 6-2 win at the top doubles flight
• Zoe Cauthen and Tiffany Pyritz answered with a 6-4 win at the second court, their team-leading 11th doubles win of the season
• UCF would answer quickly with a win on the third and final court to take the doubles point
• The ninth-ranked Knights took the first three decisions in singles play clinching on the middle three flights of three, four and five

News and Notes

• Cauthen and Pyritz's doubles win on court two was the first court Charleston Southern has taken in their two NCAA Tournament appearances in program history
• Their 11 doubles wins are also the most by a CSU tandem since the 2018 season when Madalina Man and Sophie Cloessner had 12 wins
• Friday was the second NCAA postseason match in CSU program history with the Bucs taking on national seeds on both occasions (No. 7 Georgia in 2015, No. 9 UCF in 2021)
• Charleston Southern ends the season 10-8 overall earning their 14th 10-win season in program history and 12th since the turn of the century
• UCF moves to 2-0 against Charleston Southern all-time with one meeting in the regular season (1996) and one postseason (2021)

No. 9 UCF 4, Charleston Southern 0

Singles
Valeriya Zeleva (UCF) vs. Madalina Man (CHSO) 6-1, 5-2 (unfinished)
Evgeniya Levashova (UCF) vs. Luiza Fullana (CHSO) 6-0, 2-2 (unfinished)
Ksneia Kuznetsova (UCF) def. Khyanna Singh (CHSO) 6-1, 6-1
Marie Mattel (UCF) def. Zoe Cauthen (CHSO) 6-1, 6-1
Jaleesa Leslie (UCF) def. Michelle Schmitz (CHSO) 6-0, 6-1
Nandini Sharma (UCF) vs. Tiffany Pyritz (CHSO) 6-0, 5-1 (unfinished)

Doubles
Kuznetsova/Zeleva (UCF) def. Man/Singh (CHSO) 6-2
Cauthen/Pyritz (CHSO) def. Bay Christian/Levashova (UCF) 6-4
Sharma/Stolmar (UCF) def. Fullana/Schmitz (CHSO) 6-3

Order of Finish
Singles: 5, 4, 3
Doubles: 1, 2, 3