ORLANDO – With a perfect 6-0 record in front of the Knights faithful, the UCF Men’s Tennis will look to grab two more as it concludes its final non-conference homestand, welcoming Penn and South Alabama for two early-week matchups at the USTA National Campus.
The Knights (9-1) will first host the Quakers (10-5) for a 10 a.m. first serve Monday morning before facing the Jaguars (4-5) Tuesday at noon.
With 10 matches in the books for UCF, the squad is embarking on its final stretch of non-conference play before its inaugural Big 12 match at Texas later this month. The opening stretch has been nothing short of historic, from jumping out to its best start in program history (7-0), to securing nine wins from its first 10 for the third-ever season, UCF has been firing under all cylinders under first-year head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess.
Led by a dominating singles display, the Knights took care of business against South Florida Friday night to commence a new era between programs. The fourth doubles point of the season was followed by a sweep of the back three courts, concluded with the third of three straight-set wins courtesy of Santiago Giamichelle serving as the clincher.
It’s just business 😤
— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) March 2, 2024
⚔️ KNIGHTS WIN ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/fcewVLDeEA
KNIGHT NOTABLES
- Overall, UCF is 40-11 through 10 matches in singles play as each of the eight Knights who have featured is in the win column.
- Giamichelle is off to his best start at the collegiate level, jumping out to an 8-1 record across courts four through six. The Argentinean native has lost just two matches across his last 18, with just one of his 15 wins in that span coming in straight sets.
- Though Dlimi’s match against South Florida went unfinished, the sophomore extended his unbeaten streak to seven matches, now just three contests away from reaching his 10-match run from 2023.
- South Florida marked the fifth match of the season UCF didn’t drop a court in singles play, along with the sixth match with each win coming in straight sets.
THE OPPONENTS
UCF and Penn will meet for the sixth time on Monday, as the Quakers enter the bout following back-to-back sweeps over Penn State and Hofstra. The two teams sit just two spots from each other in the latest ITA team rankings, as Penn checked in at No. 42 while the Knights sit at No. 44.
While the Quakers don’t have any players in the rankings, they still possess a strong front end led by Manfredi Graziani on court one and Kian Vakili on court two.
The lone common opponent thus far, Florida Atlantic, edged out Penn at ITA Kickoff Weekend, 4-3. The Quakers have lost two of their past 10, with the pair of losses coming against Princeton, 4-1, and Delaware, 4-3.
South Alabama is in the midst of a three-match road swing in the sunshine state. The Jaguars fell to Florida State in Tallahassee in their last contest, 6-1, as they’ll then head to North Florida following Tuesday’s meeting with UCF.
The two teams have three common opponents, as South Alabama secured wins of its own versus UNC Wilmington, 4-0, and UAB, 7-0, though it fell to FAU, 4-0, in Mobile.
South Alabama has thrown an array of lineups at opponents through nine contests as six players have featured on courts one through three.