Men's Tennis Prevails in Dramatic Fashion at Tulsa, 4-3Men's Tennis Prevails in Dramatic Fashion at Tulsa, 4-3

Men's Tennis Prevails in Dramatic Fashion at Tulsa, 4-3

by Alex Clough

TULSA, Okla. – Just over four hours and four three-set duels later, the UCF men’s tennis team prevailed at Tulsa Sunday afternoon, defeating the Golden Hurricane, 4-3. The Knights showed remarkable composure during the match, not wavering after trailing 2-0 early to cap off the comeback with yet another clincher, courtesy of Liam Branger.

Amazing effort today from the guys, we have had an unbelievably hard stretch with a lot of matches in a short period of time. The guys knew how tough it would be and they continued to put their bodies on the line for the team and were able to come through. I’m very proud of how hard they continue to fight for one another and the university.

Head Coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess

Michael D. Case Tennis Center played host to UCF’s first contest with more than two three-set matches in singles, as the Knights flipped the script in the second sets to secure the dramatic victory.

The Knights’ (13-1) efforts in doubles continued with yet another tiebreak decider against the Golden Hurricane (6-9). The tandem of Lleyton Cronje and Liam Branger returned to court two this afternoon and picked up right where they left off. A back-and-forth bout with Tulsa’s Callum Gale and Gus Tettamble saw the duo eventually prevail later on to take the 6-4 triumph, extending their winning streak to five matches.

A result on court three that leveled out the contest following a Tulsa victory shifted attention towards court one as Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin strived to secure the first point of the match. A difficult decision at 6-5 however moved the bout to a tiebreak where Tulsa’s Pierce Rollins and Timothy Carlsson Seager would prevail to give the Golden Hurricane the early spoils, 7-6 (7-2).

Mehdi Benchakroun got the Knights on the board in singles to cut the deficit in half following Colin’s defeat on court six. The Moroccan is now six matches unbeaten following his triumph over Victor Tosetto in straight sets, 6-3, 7-4, and now holds a four-match winning streak in that stretch.

Within minutes of each other, Francisco Llanes and Yassine Dlimi gave UCF its first lead of the day. The former completed the first of three three-set triumphs, besting Timothy Segar on court three after holding steady to take the bout, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Llanes returns to the win column with his seventh of the campaign and continued the Knights’ charge in singles.

Unlike all seven wins during his now 11-match unbeaten streak, Dlimi had to bounce back following a first-set loss to Pierce Rollins on court one. The Moroccan showed incredible determination during his final two sets to move his win streak to eight matches following a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3, victory to give UCF the advantage.

While Cronje got within match-point on court two, Tulsa’s Thiago Pernas would level the contest and move the crowd to court four.

Branger, amidst a back-and-forth duel with Volodymyr Zakharov, had precedent behind him as he embarked on the third set. Since he arrived in Orlando in 2023, no player has clinched more matches than the Frenchman and today, it showed.

After leveling the contest at one set all, Branger had his serve broken up 5-3 before completing the comeback with a break of his own to clinch the match for the Knights, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4.

Following a Midwest sweep against two former conference foes, UCF will return home to complete non-conference play on Thursday night as it plays host to Southern Miss with hopes of improving to 14-1 for the first time in program history.

Singles Results

  1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Pierce Rollins (TLS) 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3 2
  2. Thiago Pernas (TLS) def. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (9-7)
  3. Francisco Llanes (UCF) def. Timothy Seger (TLS) 6-4, 3-6, 6-1
  4. Liam Branger (UCF) def. Volodymyr Zakharov (TLS) 4-6, 7-5, 6-4
  5. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Victor Tosetto (TLS) 6-3, 7-5
  6. Alex Okonkwo (TLS) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles Results

  1. Pierce Rollins/Timothy Seger (TLS) def. Yassine Dlimi/Paul Colin (UCF) 7-6 (7-2)
  2. Liam Branger/Lleyton Cronje (UCF) def. Callum Gale/Timothy Seger (TLS) 6-4
  3. Alex Okonkwo/Victor Tosetto (TLS) def. Santiago Giamichelle/Francisco Llanes (UCF) 6-3

Order of Finish

  • Doubles: 3,2,1
  • Singles: 6,5,3,1,2,4