ORLANDO - After a strong debut season in the Big 12, the UCF men’s tennis team has five Knights featured on the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) preseason rankings.
UCF’s juniors showed out with Yassine Dlimi slotting in at no. 87 in singles, and fellow junior doubles duo Santiago Giamichelle and Mehdi Benchakroun at no. 39. The Knights rounded out the rankings with two redshirt freshmen, Walid Ahouda and Simeon Terziev, placing 8th and 19th respectively in the newcomer category, the only team in the Big 12 with two players.
Dlimi’s ranking is backed by a strong 9-6 record in singles, having led UCF in court one in each of his 21 appearances. The Casablanca native also stamped in an undefeated 12-match stretch which included nine consecutive wins from Jan. 21 to Mar. 14.
Both redshirted freshman, Ahouda and Terziev, boast a hefty resume before their time at UCF. Ahouda holds a career-high ITF juniors ranking of No. 63 and has advanced to multiple J2 and J3 finals, while Terziev placed a career-high ITF singles ranking of 68 after reaching multiple M15 finals.
After beating Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament and reaching the second round for the second time in program history, the Knights have a strong foundation of players to build on ahead of the 2024-25 campaign.
Singles
- Yassine Dlimi (87)
Doubles
- Santiago Giamichelle and Mehdi Benchakroun (39)
Newcomers
- Walid Ahouda (8)
- Simeon Terziev (19)