Texas Tech Athletics
Houston
No. 14 Lady Raiders host Houston, No. 17 UCF
March 19, 2025 | Women's Tennis
LUBBOCK, Texas – The No. 14 Texas Tech Lady Raiders are back at home after a four-match road trip to host the Houston Cougars and the No. 17 UCF Knights this week. Tech will take on Houston first on Friday at 1 p.m. before hosting a top-20 opponent in UCF on Sunday at 12 p.m. at the McLeod Tennis Center.
The Lady Raiders (12-2, 5-1 Big 12) are 9-16 all-time against Houston but have won the last four meetings dating back to 2016. Last year, the Lady Raiders defeated the Cougars in Houston, 6-0, during conference play. Texas Tech is 1-0 all-time against UCF, getting the program's first win over the Knights last season in Orlando, 4-2.
The Lady Raiders are coming off a split weekend at TCU and at Baylor, getting a top-20 win over the Bears by a 4-2 score in Waco. In dual singles, Texas Tech is led by Yekaterina Dmitrichenko with a 10-1 record, followed by Hailey Murphy with a 9-2 record and both Andreea Lila and Jermine Sherif with seven dual wins each. In addition, Sherif is a perfect 7-0 in singles and got the clinching match win at No. 20 Baylor.
In dual doubles, the No. 4-ranked duo of Avelina Sayfetdinova and Mariia Hlahola, who is the program's highest ranking doubles team in history, lead the way with a 9-2 record at court one. Sherif and Lila are just behind with an 8-3 record at court three.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
The Houston Cougars are 3-9 overall and 0-6 in Big 12 play. On a nine-match losing streak, the Cougars' three wins have come against UT Arlington, North Texas and Tarleton State. The Cougars are led in dual singles wins by three players who all total four wins apiece – Valeria Krokhotina, Sophie Schouten and Santa Strombacha. In dual doubles, the doubles pair of Schouten and Gabriela Cortes led the way with four wins.
The UCF Knights are 14-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play, the only remaining undefeated team in Big 12. The Knights' one loss was to Florida Atlantic and they are currently on a seven-match win streak. Some key wins were against TCU, Baylor, Kansas and preseason Big 12 champions Oklahoma State. There are three Knights ranked in singles nationally – Sophia Biolay (85), Olivia Lincer (110) and Aya El Aouni (119). Biolay is currently on a 10-match win streak in singles and remains perfect in conference play. In doubles, the tandem of Lincer and Hannah Rylatt ranked No. 30 in the ITA national rankings as they lead the team with a 4-2 record.
IN THE RANKINGS
Team
No. 14 Texas Tech
No. 17 UCF
Singles
No. 85 Sophia Biolay (UCF)
No. 110 Olivia Lincer (UCF)
No. 119 Aya El Aouni (UCF)
Doubles
No. 4 Mariia Hlahola/Avelina Sayfetdinova (Texas Tech)
No. 30 Olivia Lincer/Hannah Rylatt (UCF)
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats and live video will be available for both matches. Follow @TexasTechWTEN on X for updates and scores of the matches.
Players Mentioned
