The No. 57 UCF men's tennis team (4-10) looks to defend home court this week against No. 55 Arkansas and Wichita State. The Knights will battle the Razorbacks Wednesday at 5 p.m., followed by a Friday 5 p.m. matchup against the Shockers. Both games will be at the USTA National Campus.
STATE OF THE KNIGHTS
No. 57 UCF dropped their two previous matchups against two powerhouse schools in No. 2 Ohio State, and No. 3 Texas. In their 4-0 loss against the Buckeyes, the Knights were unable to pick up a singles victory, however the No. 30 ranked duo of Leyton Cronje and Bogdan Pavel defeated No. 7 Andrew Lutschaunig and James Trotter, 6-3. The Knights fought hard against No. 3 Texas, but came up short in a 4-3 final. Freshmen Liam Branger and Yassine Dlimi each picked up a singles victory against ranked opponents. Branger, who picked up his first career singles win against a ranked opponent, defeated No. 29 Siem Woldeab, 6-7, 3-1, retired. Dlimi defeated No. 78 Micah Braswell in a hard-fought victory, 2-6, 6-3, 6-1.
The Knights took another point in doubles competition. Cronje and Pavel got another top ten win against No. 4 Cleeve Harper and Eliot Spizzirri, 6-3. Colin Paul and Cooper White won their first doubles match against Siem Woldeab and Pierre-Yves Bailly, 6-4. After their big week, the senior duo of Cronje and Pavel jumped from No. 76 to No. 30 in the double's rankings, and now have won three matches in a row. In singles competition, Pavel is still ranked No. 105. Liam Branger, who has won three of his four previous singles matchups, is now ranked for the first time in his collegiate career, coming in at No. 84.
THE OPPONENTS
No. 55 Arkansas arrives to the UTSA National Campus with a 12-5 record. The Razorbacks started off the year in dominate fashion, going 12-1, but four straight losses to ranked SEC rivals has caused them to fall twenty-four spots in the rankings. No. 29 Texas A&M defeated Arkansas in their last matchup, 5-2. In singles competition, Gerard Planelles leads Arkansas with eleven wins. The Knights are 3-1 all-time against the Razorbacks. In Last year's matchup, UCF won 4-1, which included a singles and doubles victory for Bogdan Pavel (with Leyton Cronje).
Wichita State enters Friday's matchup with a 9-10 record. The Shockers haven't found their consistency yet this season, as they have had multiple winning and losing streaks. Last Saturday's matchup resulted in a close loss to No. 66 Drake, 3-4. The Shockers only have one victory over a ranked opponent this year, as they defeated No. 45 Nebraska 4-3. Wichita State is led by senior Misha Kvantaliani, who has eight wins on the year. The Knights are undefeated against the Shockers, with a 3-0 record. The last matchup between these two programs was back in 2021, with UCF winning 4-0. After defeating SMU 4-2 two weeks ago, Wichita State will be the second AAC rival that the Knights face this season.
