ORLANDO - As the Knights welcome South Florida, Florida Atlantic and Stetson, for their first of two home events this Fall, there will be non-stop action at the USTA National Campus this weekend. Below are updates from each day:
- Friday: Knights Off to Strong Start Following Busy Night
During the first day of play at the UCF Invite, a trio of Knights debuted in Black and Gold as a familiar face returned to Orlando. Redshirt freshman Simeon Terziev highlighted a strong singles display, garnering his first collegiate win over South Florida's Michael Chan in straight sets, 6-1, 6-1. Former Knight, Francisco Llanes, who competed for UCF for two seasons, matched up with Mehdi Benchakroun, this time as a Bull. The Moroccan junior would get the best of his former teammate in an impressive, 6-4, 6-2, display.
Yassine Dlimi notched his first win of the fall against South Florida's Hugo Car, 6-0, 7-6(1), while Santiago Giamichelle improved to 4-1 on the young season with a straight-set victory of his own, defeating the Bulls' Tom Pavlekovich-Smith, 6-2, 6-2.
The Knights collected three wins during the opening round of doubles play, with Terziev, alongside junior Luca Hotze, securing their first win of the Fall, 6-4.
- Saturday: Pair of Knights Secure First Collegiate Wins
The second day of action at the USTA National Campus saw multiple Knights back in the win column, highlighted by a freshman duo who garnered their first singles and doubles triumphs.
Dzhenev and Oliveira bounced back following a tough defeat the night before, dominating Florida Atlantic's Segundo Goity and Marek Pazdera, 6-2. The tandem continued the momentum with two strong displays in singles play, as Dzhenev would take his match in straight sets against the Owls' Lucca Pignaton, 6-4, 6-6(4), while Oliveira erased a first-set loss to take the next two convincingly, besting Florida Atlantic's Luca Miermont, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Also in good form, Benchakroun and Giamichelle both tallied their fifth wins of the fall campaign and second on the weekend, The former tallied his 40th collegiate win after a three-set thriller, while Giamichelle continues to set the pace with a strong 6-4, 6-3, triumph.
Sunday's slate was canceled due to inclement weather.
FULL RESULTS
Singles
R1: Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Hugo Car (USF): 6-0, 7-6(1)
R1: Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Francisco Llanes (USF): 6-4, 6-2
R1: Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Tom Pavlekovich-Smith (USF): 6-2, 6-2
R1: Ben Hudson (USF) def. Emilio Sanchez (UCF): 7-5, 5-7, 6-2
R1: Gughi Verdese (USF) def. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF): 6-2, 7-5
R1: Ettore Danesi (USF) def. Adriano Dzhenev (UCF): 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
R1: Simeon Terziev (UCF) def. Michael Chan (USF): 6-1, 6-1
R1: Agustin Cuellar (USF) def. Luca Hotze (UCF): 6-1, 6-2
R1: Eder Blanco (Stetson) def. Jiri Jenicek (FAU): 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
R1: John Bernard (FAU) def. Christian Kuehne (Stetson): 6-3, 7-6(4)
R1: Lucas Olivier (Stetson) def. Jan Kusy (FAU): 6-4, 6-4
R1: Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Ervin Haris Eminefendic (Stetson): 7-6(3), 6-2
R1: Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Xavier Sarda (Stetson): 6-2, 2-6, 6-2
R1: Luca Miremont (FAU) def. Sami Ozzor (Stetson): 6-4, 7-6(5)
R1: Segundo Goity (FAU) def. Marc Saura (Stetson): 6-3, 6-4
R1: Marek Pazdera (FAU) def. Juan Jose Rodriguez (Stetson): 7-6(1), 7-5
R2: John Bernard (FAU) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF): 7-6(6), 1-6, 6-2
R2: Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Jiri Jenicek (FAU): 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-2
R2: Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Jan Kusy (FAU): 6-4, 6-3
R2: Mark Havlicek (FAU) def. Simeon Terziev (UCF): 6-4, 6-0
R2: Segundo Goity (FAU) def. Emilio Sanchez (UCF): 6-3, 7-5
R2: Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Luca Miremont (FAU): 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
R2: Adriano Dzhenev (UCF) def. Lucca Pignaton (FAU): 6-4, 7-6(4)
R2: Hugo Car (USF) def. Eder Blanco (Stetson): 6-3, 6-3
R2: Christian Kuehne (Stetson) def. Francisco Llanes (USF): 6-3, 7-6(3)
R2: Lucas Olivier (Stetson) def. Gughi Verdese (USF): 6-3, 6-2
R2: Ben Hudson (USF) def. Ervin Haris Eminefendic (Stetson): 1-6, 6-4, 6-4
R2: Xavier Sarda (Stetson) def. Ettore Danesi (USF): 6-3, 6-0
R2: Agustin Cuellar (USF) def. Sami Ozzor (Stetson): 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
R2: Tom Pavlekovich-Smith (USF) def. Juan Jose Rodriguez (Stetson): 7-5, 6-4
R2: Kartik Mandla (Stetson) def. Michael Chan (USF): 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-1
Doubles
R1: Santiago Giamichelle/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Ben Hudson/Tom Pavlekovich-Smith (USF):7-5
R1: Mehdi Benchakroun/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Toto Llanes/Hugo Car (USF): 6-2
R1: Simeon Terziev/Luca Hotze (UCF) def. Ettore Danesi/Michael Chan (USF): 6-4
R1: Agustin Cuellar/Gughi Verdese (UCF) def. Nicolas Oliveira/Adriano Dzhenev (UCF): 6-2
R1: Mark Havlicek/Jiri Jenicek (FAU) def. Marc Saura/Juan Jose Rodriguez (Stetson): 7-5
R1: Christian Kuehne/Eder Blanco (Stetson) def. Simon Myslivec/Jan Kusy (FAU): 6-3
R1: John Bernard/Lucca Pignaton (FAU) def. Xavier Sarda/Lucas Olivier (Stetson): 6-3
R1: Ervin Haris Eminefendic/Sami Ozzor (Stetson) def. Segundo Goity/Luca Miremont (FAU): 6-2
R2: Jiri Jenicek/Simon Myslivec (FAU) def. Santiago Giamichelle/Emilio Sanchez (UCF): 6-2
R2: Mark Havlicek/Jan Kusy (FAU) def. Mehdi Benchakroun/Yassine Dlimi (UCF): 6-4
R2: Simeon Terziev/Luca Hotze (UCF) def. Luca Miremont/Lucca Pignaton (FAU): 7-6(4)
R2: Adriano Dzhenev/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Segundo Goity/Marek Pazdera (FAU): 6-2
R2: Juan Jose Rodriguez/Marc Sauna (Stetson) def. Ben Hudson/Tom Pavlekovich-Smith (USF): 6-4
R2: Hugo Car/Toto Llanes (USF) def. Eder Blanco/Christian Kuehne (Stetson): 6-3
R2: Gughi Vardese/Ettore Danesi (USF) def. Ervin Haris Eminefendic/Sami Ozzor (Stetson): 7-6(6)
R2: Lucas Olivier/Kartik Mandla (Stetson) def. Michael Chan/Agustin Cuellar (USF): 6-4