Trio of Knights Dominate the Fayetteville 25k

ORLANDO - Over 1,300 miles from Orlando, it was all Black and Gold at the Fayetteville 25k this weekend at the Billingsley Tennis Center. Yassine Dlimi, Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle, who will remain a staple of the Knights’ 2025 squad, were dominant throughout the tournament, besting a mixture of collegiate and professional competitors.

The event was split into four groups, which played a round-robin to determine the field for each of the playoffs. The Knights' results continued to deliver throughout the week, as each topped their respective groups to advance into the first-place edition. 

Benchakroun was brilliant in his semifinal contest, dominating the serving game against Arkansas junior and Austrian native, Benedikt Emesz. Following a 6-3 first-set triumph, Benchakroun went one further and finished the match with a strong 6-2 performance in the second.

In the second semifinal, Dlimi and Giamichelle would take their usual practice bouts to a bigger stage, each striving for a spot in the final. While the former kept it close throughout, Dlimi would pull away in each set, securing the matchup with a 6-4, 6-4, result.

From the clay surfaces of Morocco to the hard courts at the USTA National Campus, Benchakroun and Dlimi have been in tune for nearly a decade. Fittingly, the tandem split the first two sets, as Benchakroun battled back to leave the match level heading into the tiebreaker. 

Dlimi would replicate his first-set play with a 6-2 victory in the third to take the crown, while Benchakroun placed second. Overall, three Knights were among the top four of a 16-athlete field.

Each will play a massive role in the Knights’ second season in the Big 12, as the trio went a combined 38-12 in 2024 and have already shown clear signs of improvement this fall.