No. 17 Men's Tennis Sweeps No. 35 Arizona State in Home FinaleNo. 17 Men's Tennis Sweeps No. 35 Arizona State in Home Finale

No. 17 Men's Tennis Sweeps No. 35 Arizona State in Home Finale

by Alex Clough
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ORLANDO - For the third consecutive weekend of play, the No. 17 UCF men’s tennis team responded resoundingly after a Friday defeat. The Knights dominated No. 35 Arizona State 4-0 Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus to move back into the win column ahead of the final two regular-season contests.

While an early lead gave UCF (17-7) an easier path forward in singles against the Sun Devils (12-9), the squad left no room for error to cap off an exciting 2025 home slate at 10-3, along with a needed victory to remain in the mix ahead of this month’s Big 12 Championship.

A nearly hour-long doubles point set the tone for what was an action-packed home finale. After Arizona State swiftly took court one against Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez, 6-1, the Knights ventured past the 10-game mark on two and three as they strived to respond.

Sandwiched between UCF’s defeat on the front court and a duel on three which was approaching a tiebreak, juniors Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle held serve to defeat the Sun Devils’ Matic Dimic and Tanner Povey, 6-4.

On the anchor court, the new-look tandem of Paul Colin and Nicolas Oliveira, who debuted on Thursday night against Baylor, showed composure after Arizona State’s Daniel Phillips and Mathis Bondaz broke what wouldn’t been the match-clincher, instead having to settle for a winner-take-all tiebreak. 

Leading 4-2 before switching sides, the Sun Devils fired off three consecutive points to take a 5-4 lead. However, the Knights’ duo held serve twice before breaking their counterparts, securing their first win together and a crucial opening point for UCF.

In singles, the Knights jumped out to set leads on four courts, headlined by Oliveira’s brilliant comeback on five. Down 4-0 out of the gates, the freshman tallied six consecutive games, breaking Phillips three times to add momentum to the Black and Gold’s efforts.

Sweeping the first set on court one, 77th-ranked Yassine Dlimi got back into the win column after Bondaz was forced to retire in the second after the Moroccan grew a 4-0 lead. 

His Moroccan counterpart on court two put the Knights within one shortly after, besting Nicolas Cigna in a dominating straight-set display, 6-2, 6-2, to claim his team-leading 14th win of the season.

With both Colin and Sanchez claiming their first sets, and Giamichelle forcing a third on court four, UCF had options for the clinching point. 

An hour earlier when singles play was in its early stages, Oliveira was down 4-0 in his opening set on five against Phillips. However, with the composure usually saved for upperclassmen, the freshman countered with six consecutive games to take the first set. The Brazilian native went on to secure his first clinch since another gritty triumph against No. 4 Ohio State at the ITA Indoor Championships in February, losing just two of his final 14 games to punch UCF’s home-finale win.

UP NEXT

The Knights will conclude regular-season play as they travel to the midwest for meetings with Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, a precursor for the Big 12 Championships in just under two weeks time.

Singles Results

  1. #77 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Mathis Bondaz (ASU) 6-0, 4-0, retirement
  2. #86 Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Nicolas Cigna (ASU) 6-2, 6-2
  3. Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Tanner Povey (ASU) 6-4, 2-1, unfinished
  4. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) vs. Matic Dimic (ASU) 2-6, 6-4, 0-1, unfinished
  5. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Daniel Phillips (ASU) 6-4, 6-2
  6. Emilio Sanchez (UCF) vs. Roi Ginat (ASU) 7-6(5), unfinished

Doubles Results

  1. Nicolas Cigna/Roi Ginat (ASU) def. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 6-1
  2. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Matic Dimic/Tanner Povey (ASU) 6-4
  3. Paul Colin/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Daniel Phillips/Mathis Bondaz (ASU) 7-6(5)