FORT WORTH, Texas - A historic 2025 season came to an end Saturday afternoon as the No. 15 UCF men’s tennis team fell in the program’s first NCAA Super Regional to reigning national champions No. 2 TCU, 4-0.
Both splitting the matches and the doubles point in their prior meetings, the Knights pushed the opening phase to a winner-take-all court two bout, before the Horned Frogs eventually claimed the early advantage.
The second-ranked tandem of Lui Maxted and Pedri Vives, who made their return to the court alongside each other during regionals, set the tone for TCU with a 6-3 win over 55th-ranked Liam Branger and Paul Colin on court one.
However, Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle, who have dominated court three throughout the 2025 season, authored yet another dominating performance to level the point at one apiece. After breaking Albert Pedrico and Duncan Chan early, the tandem consistently held serve to tally a 6-4 win and their team-leading 17th victory of the year.
Court two became the decider, as Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez were serving to level the contest at five-all. At deuce point, TCU’s 32nd-ranked Jack Pinnington and Cooper Woestendick broke the pairing, securing their squad the early advantage, 6-4.
In singles, Colin was the lone Knight who secured his opening set, presenting an even taller task for the squad as they sought to charge back into the match.
Eventually, TCU’s first-set advantages led to points, with Pedrico doubling the Horned Frogs’ advantage on court five opposite Giamichelle, 6-2, 6-3.
While the Knights fended off dual-match points on courts three and six, TCU claimed the courts and the contest moments later. Roger Pascual put the finishing touches on his court six triumph over Nicolas Oliveira, 6-1, 6-2, before 37th-ranked Maxted prevailed in a contested second set over Branger on three, 6-2, 6-4.
Singles Results
- #63 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) vs. #8 Jack Pinnington (TCU) 3-6, 4-3, unfinished
- #84 Mehdi Benchakroun vs. (UCF) #10 Pedro Vives (TCU) 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
- #37 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 6-2, 6-4
- Paul Colin (UCF) vs. #95 Cooper Woestendick (TCU) 6-2, 4-6, unfinished
- Albert Pedrico (TCU) def. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 6-2, 6-3
- Roger Pascual (TCU) def. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Results
- #2 Pedro Vives/Lui Maxted (TCU) def. #55 Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) 6-3
- #32 Jack Pinnington/Cooper Woestendick (TCU) def. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 6-4
- Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Albert Pedrico/Duncan Chan (TCU) 6-4