ORLANDO – Tennis is in the air and with it, the ITA Collegiate Tennis National Preseason Rankings. The release saw three Knights feature ahead of the first weeks of the 2023-24 season. For the full rankings (singles and doubles), click here.
Following a freshman year in which he held down court three, was named All-Conference in singles, and garnered an AAC Freshman of the Year honor, Yassine Dlimi makes his inaugural appearance in the singles ranking, slotting in at No. 69. The Moroccan was one of the most highly touted international recruits ahead of the 2023 dual match season and he did not disappoint in his Orlando introduction.
Dlimi went 11-5 in singles while featuring on courts one through three. Following an impressive opening stretch, the freshman went on a ten-match unbeaten run from Mar. 15 to Apr. 21, collecting a victory against Texas’ Micah Braswell 2-6, 6-3, 6-1. He garnered his first AAC Player of the Week honor on Apr. 18 and continued to be a force within a Knights squad that made the Conference Tournament Semifinals.
Over the summer, Dlimi returned to North Africa, featuring in multiple M15 tournaments in both Morocco and Tunisia. In June, he took home his first pro title at the M15 Casablanca, defeating a strong field en route to a finals victory over Jorge Martinez 7-5, 7-6 (1). With the program’s first Big 12 season on the horizon, Dlimi is sure to impress as his preseason rank puts him among the best sophomores in the nation.
Lleyton Cronje returns to the fold for his final collegiate season. The South African has been vital to the Knights in singles since his transfer from VCU ahead of the 2021 season. Playing predominately on court two in 2023, Cronje went 8-11 through the dual-match season. With his doubles counterpart gone in Bogdan Pavel, Cronje will up his leadership role as he’s the lone fifth year on the team.
Speaking of the aforementioned doubles duo, Liam Branger joined Cronje as the tandem slotted in at 46th in the doubles ranking. Cronje has been ranked as high as 24th in doubles throughout his four-year collegiate career (Sept. 9, 2022), and last season the then-senior advanced to the second round of the NCAA Doubles Championship. Branger makes his first doubles appearance as the Frenchman was ranked as high as 112 (Apr. 18, 2023) in singles during his freshman campaign.