Men's Tennis Improves to 10-1 Following Dominant 4-0 Sweep over PennMen's Tennis Improves to 10-1 Following Dominant 4-0 Sweep over Penn

Men's Tennis Improves to 10-1 Following Dominant 4-0 Sweep over Penn

by Alex Clough

ORLANDO – A second sweep in four days following a dominant 4-0 victory over Penn secured the UCF Men’s Tennis team its second 10-1 start in program history. After jumping out to an early advantage, the Knights left no room for the Quakers to get on the board, taking care of business with three swift wins in singles.

We were amazing in doubles, especially without Santiago who has been one of our stronger doubles players, Paul came straight back in and set the tone for the rest of the match.

Lloyd Bruce-Burgess

The Knights’ performances in doubles have progressed through the first half of the season and this afternoon, it was yet another dominating display to secure their third consecutive point. On courts one and two, UCF broke early to take control of the contests from the jump, as Liam Branger and Lleyton Cronje secured their third-straight triumph on court two with a 6-2 victory over Manfredi Graziani and Parashar Bharadwaj.

UCF is 4-0 when the pair win court two as the tandem has shown its ability to prove vital for the team’s success in doubles. On court one, the newly paired Paul Colin and Yassine Dlimi, making their first appearance together since Miami last month, followed suit with a vibrant performance of their own, 6-2. The duo moved to 3-1 on the season as Colin returned to the fold effortlessly, and would carry the momentum into singles.

The first singles court to fall for the Knights came courtesy of Yassine Dlimi, who extended his unbeaten run to eight matches. The sophomore was dominant throughout his straight-set, 6-1, 6-2, victory over Penn’s Manfredi Graziani, and set the tone for UCF leading the charge.

As five of the sex Knights took their respective first sets, Branger and Cronje, who had already secured their first wins of the day, completed their strong performances in singles.

Branger made it two wins from two, this time taking a straight-set triumph on court four against Penn’s Baylor Sai, 6-3, 6-1. The Frenchman has secured two wins in both of his appearances leading the Knights back-half and improves to 6-2 on the season.

Moving back to court three, Cronje made quick work of Aaron Sandler following a 7-5 first-set decision, blanking his opposition in the third, 6-0, to move to 7-2 through 11 matches in 2024.

With the conclusion of the contest, courts two, five and six went unfinished, though Mehdi Benchakroun was on the verge of making it three on the jump as he was besting Rutter, 6-3, 5-2. On court six, Colin was amidst a back-and-forth second set after taking the first convincingly, 6-1, as he and Bharadwaj were currently sitting at five games all.

The Knights have been brilliant in front of the home faithful in 2024, with today’s win over Penn improving UCF to 7-0 at USTA National Campus. It marks the first start of that caliber at home since 2003 when UCF won its first nine home contests.

Singles Competition

  1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Manfredi Graziani (Penn) 6-1, 6-2
  2. Francisco Llanes (UCF) vs. Kian Vakili (Penn) 6-7 (2-7), 2-2, unfinished
  3. Lleyton Cronje (UCF) def. Aaron Sandler (Penn) 7-5, 6-0
  4. Liam Branger (UCF) def. Baylor Sai (Penn) 6-3, 6-1
  5. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Matthew Rutter (Penn) 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
  6. Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Parashar Bharadwaj (Penn) 6-1, 5-5

Doubles Competition

  1. Yassine Dlimi/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Aaron Sandler/Kian Vakil (Penn) 6-2
  2. Liam Branger/Lleyton Cronje (UCF) def. Manfredi Graziani/Parashar Bharadwaj (Penn) 6-2
  3. Matthew Rutter/Baylor Sai (Penn) vs. Mehdi Benchakroun/Francisco Llanes (UCF) 5-3, unfinished

Order of Finish

  • Singles: 1,4,3
  • Doubles: 2,1