Men's Tennis Set for Inaugural Big 12 Contests at No. 8 Texas and BaylorMen's Tennis Set for Inaugural Big 12 Contests at No. 8 Texas and Baylor

Men's Tennis Set for Inaugural Big 12 Contests at No. 8 Texas and Baylor

by Alex Clough

ORLANDO – A monumental introduction to the Big 12 will transition into the next chapter as the UCF men’s tennis team opens conference play with a Texas road swing. The Knights will play their inaugural match at No. 8 Texas on Friday at 8 p.m. ET / 9 p.m. ET before journeying north to cap the week off at Baylor at 11 a.m. ET / 10 a.m. CT.

A 14-1 non-conference domination, including its first 7-0 start in program history, has UCF tabbed 34th in the latest ITA team rankings. The Longhorns (12-3) and No. 27 Baylor 15-5 have both been among the top teams in both the conference and nation and will provide a stern test for first-year head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess.

Two seven-match win streaks began and ended non-conference play, marking a historic commencement to a new era for UCF. Bruce-Burgess, who took the reins of the team in August, has immediately made an impact with a young squad.

Last time out, UCF swept Southern Miss 7-0 to remain a perfect 9-0 at home. A lone defeat at Florida in February marked the only road loss of the season as the Knights recently swept a two-match road swing at Wichita State and Tulsa.

Knights Notables

  • Mehdi Benchakroun has attained 10 wins through his first 14 matches thus far, the most of any Knights. The sophomore hasn’t lost since February 19 and is currently riding a five-match winning streak.
  • Yassine Dlimi is on a career-high 12-match unbeaten streak, having lost his sole contest of the season on January 20. A nine-match winning streak has the sophomore playing his best collegiate tennis to date.
  • Each athlete who has featured in singles has a winning percentage of at least .667, as five Knights have eight or more wins.
  • The win against Southern Miss marked the third match this season the Knights took all six singles courts, with each coming in straight sets.

The Opponents

Texas is currently riding a three-match winning streak, with a statement win over No. 1 Ohio State, paired with triumphs over No. 38 Georgia and No. 44 USC. The Longhorns’ three defeats have all come against programs currently ranked in the top six (No. 2 TCU, No. 4 Virginia, No. 6 Arizona).

Led by a pair of the nation’s top players, No. 1 Eliot Spizzirri and No. 2 Micah Braswell, Texas displays a dominant lineup. No. 41 Gilles-Arnaud Bailly and No. 67 Jonah Braswell round out the ranked Longhorns in singles, while Spizzirri and Cleeve Harper, ranked eighth in the nation, lead the line in doubles.

The future SEC program has attained six regular-season titles and five tournament championships in the Big 12. A season ago, the Knights took the doubles point and battled to the end against the Longhorns, eventually dropping the bout, 4-3.

The only team with more conference titles than Texas is its in-state rival Baylor, who have won 14 regular-season titles and 11 tournament championships.

The Bears have been in and out of the top-25 this season and will welcome second-ranked TCU on Friday night before Sunday’s matinee with the Knights. Baylor started the season 12-1, including a ranked win over then No.5 USC. Since then, it's gone 3-4 after a difficult stretch of player versus multiple top-three opponents.

No. 50 Tadeas Paroulek leads the squad in singles, along with No. 74 Zsombor Velcz and No. 88 Devin Badenhorst. Paroulek and Velcz, ranked 40th in the nation in doubles, have been solid on court one.

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