The UCF men's tennis team (2-7) will travel to Boca Raton to face off against FAU (7-7) to kick off a three-game road trip. The Knights will battle the Owls on Friday at 2 p.m.
STATE OF THE KNIGHTSThe Knights were able to break a five-match losing streak against Northern Florida this past Friday. Francisco Llanes clinched the 5-2 win for the Knights, with a 6-2, 7-6 (12) singles victory over PJ Kotan. Llanes also picked up a doubles victory with Mehdi Benchakroun, 6-3. The No. 48 ranked duo of Bogdan Pavel and Lleyton Cronje picked up another victory, as they defeated Jonas Hartenstein and Rodrigo Crespo, 6-3. Yassine Dlimi, Mehdi Benchakroun, and Liam Branger also picked up singles victories against the Ospreys.
The Knights were unable to pick up their third win of the season on Saturday, as No. 16 FSU defeated UCF, 6-1. Freshman Yassine Dlimi was able to pick up his first-ranked career singles victory over No. 89 Youcef Rihane (6-4, 7-5).
Entering this weekend, Dlimi (2-3) is looking to extend his two-match winning streak. Bogdan Pavel (4-2), the team leader in singles wins, is looking to bounce back from his two previous defeats. Pavel has had success against FAU in the past, with a 2-1 singles record against the Owls.
No. 48 Pavel and Cronje have won three of their four previous doubles matchups. They enter Friday's matchup with a 3-2 record on the year. The Freshmen duo of Yassine Dlimi and Liam Branger are seeking their first doubles win together (0-3).
THE OPPONENTSNo. 51 FAU enters Friday's matchup with a 7-7 record. After losing three of their four previous matchups, the Owls were able to defeat Wichita State, 4-3. Hunter Robbins leads FAU with a 13-4 singles record and is on a four-match win streak. Robbins also has a combined record of 11-5 in doubles play. Joao Graca (8-7) has the second most singles wins for the Owls.
UCF has won their six previous matchups against FAU and leads 16-3 in the all-time series. The Knights defeated the Owls 4-1 in last year's matchup at the USTA National Campus. Lleyton Cronje and Bogdan Pavel each picked up a singles victory in last year's battle.