While the Knights’ dominating displays throughout the season in singles haven’t gone unnoticed, today, the squad flipped the script in doubles to garner an early advantage in the Lone Star State. Following Lleyton Cronje and Santiago Giamichelle’s defeat on court one, UCF charged back courtesy of Paul Colin and Mehdi Benchakorun’s triumph on court three over TCU’s Tomas Jirousek and Kaj Quirijns, 6-3.
The momentum carried over to court two, as in their second appearance together this season, Francisco Llanes and Emilio Sanchez pulled away from the 77th-ranked Horned Frogs duo of Duncan Chan and Lui Maxted, 6-4. The result breaks a four-match skid in doubles and served as a great sign for Bruce-Burgess ahead of the Big 12 Championships next week.
In line with the highly contested doubles point, the first sets of each court in singles followed suit. Liam Branger and Lleyton Cronje were each able to jump out to leads, with the latter taking his first set, 6-3, over No. 8 Jack Pinnington.
Branger would finish the job in the second, replicating his prowess to defeat Tomas Jirousek, 6-3, 6-4, to double the Knights lead. The Frenchman’s triumph marks his 10th of the season, becoming the third Knight to reach double-digits and matching his 2023 tally.
Not ranked No. 2 in the nation for name alone, the Horned Frogs battled back to level the contest. Pinnington would eventually prevail over Cronje in three sets, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, while Llanes suffered defeat on two after a difficult first-set tiebreak against No. 57 Pedro Vives, 7-6(8), 6-3.
The match swung fully back in TCU’s favor following Mehdi Benchakroun's defeat on court six against Julian Alonso on yet another deciding tiebreak, 6-4, 7-6(7). Though seconds later, his fellow sophomore picked both he and the Knights back on both feet, leveling the bout at three-all following a come-from-behind triumph over No. 72 Lui Maxted.
Giamichelle forced court five into a third after a 7-0 tiebreak over Chan, though the decider would eventually be claimed by the Horned Frog, 7-6(9), 6-7(0), 6-3.
Another chapter in a historic first year in both the Big 12 and under Bruce-Burgess will commence next weekend. Picked sixth in the preseason poll, the Knights secured fourth following a 4-3 conference slate and will look to make even more of a splash in Stillwater, Oklahoma.
Singles Results
- No. 8 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. No. 115 Lleyton Cronje (UCF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
- No. 57 Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Francisco Llanes (UCF) 7-6(8), 6-3
- Paul Colin (UCF) def. No. 72 Lui Maxted (TCU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-4
- Liam Branger (UCF) def. Tomas Jirousek (TCU) 6-3, 6-4
- Duncan Chan (TCU) def. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 7-6(9), 6-7(0), 6-3
- Julian Alonso (TCU) def. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-4, 7-6(7)
Doubles Results
- Jack Pennington/Pedro Vives (TCU) def. Lleyton Cronje/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 6-4
- Francisco Llanes/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. No. 77 Duncan Chan/Lui Maxted (TCU) 6-4
- Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Thomas Jirousek/Kaj Quirijns (TCU) 6-3
Order of Finish
- Singles: 4,2,1,6,3,5
- Doubles: 1,3,2
