Men's Tennis Dominant Once Again in 4-1 Victory over South AlabamaMen's Tennis Dominant Once Again in 4-1 Victory over South Alabama

Men's Tennis Dominant Once Again in 4-1 Victory over South Alabama

by Alex Clough

ORLANDO – The wins keep coming for the UCF men’s tennis team as it defeated South Alabama Tuesday afternoon at the USTA National Campus in yet another dominant 4-1 display to sweep the three-match homestand and move to an impressive 11-1 in 2024. Led by a vibrant performance in singles, the Knights have won four consecutive matches and remain undefeated at home, having taken eight-of-eight in front of the Knights faithful.

We played great on the top three courts today and recovered well after losing a close doubles point. South Alabama is a tough team, we knew it would be very challenging to come away with a win and I’m proud of how resilient we continue to be.

Head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess

For the second time in three matches, the doubles point came down to a tiebreak as UCF and South Alabama exchanged blows on courts two and three. The Jaguars’ duo of Juan Accossatto and Harold van Raemdonck got the better of Francisco Llanes and Mehdi Benchakroun following an early break, eventually taking the bout, 6-1.

The countdown continued with a fourth consecutive court two triumph for Lleyton Cronje and Liam Branger. The tandem continues its dominance as of late, taking down Rotislav Halfinger and Theo Mottier, 6-4. Following a crucial break to push the match into a tiebreak on court one, the Knights’ duo of Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin would eventually fall to South Alabama’s Jack Clements and Braden Hannig in a 7-6 (2) result.

Similar to a plethora of UCF matches in the first half of the 2024 campaign, the Knights took back momentum swiftly with strong first sets across the board. UCF took the first set on five of six courts and within an hour of singles play, flipped the script to take control of the contest.

Cronje’s third win in his last four matches on court three over South Alabama’s Javier Montoya, 6-1, 6-2. Dlimi’s second win in as many days on court three against the Jaguars’ Jack Clements, 6-2, 6-1, gave the Knights the lead. The sophomore extended his unbeaten run to nine matches, just one shy of his double-digit stretch in 2023.

As for Cronje, the senior continues to pick up results having won three of his past four in straight sets. Shifting up to court five today, Colin continued his undefeated start to 2024 with his fifth win of the season and dominated van Raemdonck, sweeping the Jaguar in the second set to win, 7-5, 6-0.

The match clincher would come moments later on court two as Francisco Llanes got back in the win column with a 6-3, 6-3, triumph over Halfinger. UCF’s performance marked the seventh contest without a singles loss, another ode to the brilliant play from Bruce-Burgess and his squad.

With non-conference winding down, the Knights will embark on a quick two-match road swing against former conference foes, first facing Wichita State in Kansas on Friday at 1 p.m. before taking on Tulsa in Oklahoma on Sunday at 11:30 a.m.

Singles Competition

  1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Jack Clements (USA) 6-2, 6-1
  2. Francisco Llanes (UCF) def. Rostislav Halfinger (USA) 6-3, 6-3
  3. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) def. Javier Montoya (USA) 6-1, 6-2
  4. Liam Branger (UCF) vs. Juan Accossatto (USA) 5-7, 3-4, unfinished
  5. Paul Colin (UCF) def. Harold van Raemdonck (USA) 7-5, 6-0
  6. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Braden Hannig (USA) 7-5, 5-2, unfinished

Doubles Competition

  1. Jack Clements/Braden Hannig (USA) def. Yassine Dlimi/Paul Colin (UCF) 7-6 (7-2)
  2. Lleyton Cronje/Liam Branger (UCF) def. Rotislav Halfinger/Theo Mottier (USA) 6-4
  3. Juan Accossatto/Harold van Raemdonck (USA) def. Francisco Llanes/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-1

Order of Finish

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