No. 15 Men's Tennis Defeats No. 29 Florida 4-1 to Win Orlando Regional and Advance to Round of 16No. 15 Men's Tennis Defeats No. 29 Florida 4-1 to Win Orlando Regional and Advance to Round of 16

No. 15 Men's Tennis Defeats No. 29 Florida 4-1 to Win Orlando Regional and Advance to Round of 16

by Alex Clough
Box Score (PDF) Opens in a new window

ORLANDO, Florida - History has continued to follow this UCF men’s tennis team throughout a remarkable 2025 campaign, as the Knights continue to one-up each historic win with another. 

From the ITA Kickoff Weekend title, a ITA Indoor Championship triumph and a run to the finals of the Big 12 Tournament, today’s 4-1 victory over No. 29 Florida at the USTA National Campus stands just above the rest, securing the Knights with their first trip to the NCAA Round of 16 in program history.

After disposing of Miami on Saturday, UCF ended Florida’s season for the second consecutive year, with today’s second-round win joining a first-round victory a year prior. The last remaining program in Florida, the Knights have risen up the ranks of collegiate tennis at a historic pace, with a resume to back it up.

UCF’s 23rd win marks the most in the school’s DI history, defeating the Gators in front of an incredible crowd in Lake Nona.

Great to get through this weekend, we worked hard to put ourselves in this position and stepped up when we needed to. But we have a lot of tennis left to play and we are ready for the challenge ahead.

Lloyd Bruce-BurgessHead Coach

Prior to Bruce-Burgess and Allaf (52 years):

  • One NCAA second-round appearance
  • One national seed
  • Zero top-10 wins
  • Zero ITA Indoor Championship appearances
  • Zero wins over Florida
  • Most wins in a season: 22

Under Bruce-Burgess and Allaf (2 years):

  • First NCAA regional win and round of 16 appearance
  • Two NCAA second-round appearances
  • One national seed
  • Four top-10 wins
  • First ITA Indoor Championship (advanced to quarterfinals)
  • Two wins vs. Florida (undefeated)
  • Most wins in a season: 23

While the Knights prevailed a season ago in the NCAA tournament against Florida after falling in the doubles point, they had different plans this time around in front of the home crowd. On courts one and three, early breaks from the Black and Gold provided a foundation as the opening phase played out, as Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez looked to dig out of an early deficit on two.

Against Florida’s 15th-ranked tandem of Tanapatt Nirundorn and Henry Jefferson, Liam Branger and Paul Colin produced their most iconic collegiate victory to date, besting the Gators duo 6-4 to give UCF the early edge.

On three, Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle wasted no time to find the clincher after Dlimi and Sanchez fought back to a five-all match. Tallying their team-leading 17th win of the season together, the pairing has been automatic on court three, boasting a 10-1 record.

Similar to yesterday, the Knights jumped out to four first-set leads, widening the gap as just three points remained for a spot in the super regionals.

At the heart of some of UCF’s more dramatic wins this season has been freshman Nicolas Oliveira. The Brazilian native provided the clinches against both No. 4 Ohio State and No. 2 TCU, showing his newfound experience in emphatic fashion this weekend. Just two games away from a victory yesterday against the Hurricanes, Oliveira finished the job this afternoon against Niels Villard, 6-3, 7-5, to double the UCF lead.

A rematch of a 2024 regular-season bout between 63rd-ranked Dlimi and 41st-ranked Adhithya Ganesan fell in the Gators’ favor, with Florida cutting the deficit in half on court one, 6-2, 6-4.

While Colin battled back to push his court-four contest deep into the second set, a trio of Knights raced towards the clincher. Back on the court for just the third time since a late-season injury sidelined Branger for the majority of Big 12 play, the Frenchman claimed his first singles triumph since mid-March, dominating Florida’s JanMagnus Johnson in straight sets, 7-5, 6-3.

Seconds later, both Benchakroun and Giamichelle were winding down their bouts as the Knights closed in on history. While the latter clinched UCF’s first-round victory over Florida in Tallahassee a year ago, his fellow junior was the first to the punch, securing his seventh match-winner of 2025 against 82nd-ranked Jin, 6-4, 6-4.

UP NEXT

A third meeting with No. 2 TCU awaits the Knights, this time in Fort Worth. After falling to the Horned Frogs at home in March, UCF took down the Big 12 regular-season champions in the tournament semifinals, setting up for an anticipated rematch next Saturday.

Singles Results

  1. #41 Adhithya Ganesan (UF) def. #63 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-2, 6-4 
  2. #84 Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. #82 Jeremy Jin (UF) 6-4, 6-4 
  3. Liam Branger (UCF) def. JanMagnus Johnson (UF) 7-5, 6-3 
  4. Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Henry Jefferson (UF) 3-6, 6-6, unfinished 
  5. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) vs. Kevin Edengren (UF) 6-3, 6-5, unfinished 
  6. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Niels Villard (UF) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles Results

  1. #55 Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) def. #15 Tanapatt Nirundorn/Henry Jefferson (UF) 6-4
  2. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) vs. Adhithya Ganesan/Jeremy Jin (UF) 5-5, unfinished
  3. Mehdi Benchakroun/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Kevin Edengren/Ben Weintraub (UF) 6-4