Fourth-Seeded Men's Tennis Set for Big 12 Quarterfinals Bout with Oklahoma StateFourth-Seeded Men's Tennis Set for Big 12 Quarterfinals Bout with Oklahoma State

Fourth-Seeded Men's Tennis Set for Big 12 Quarterfinals Bout with Oklahoma State

by Alex Clough

ORLANDO – Another scintillating opportunity lays on the horizon once again for the UCF men’s tennis team, as it is set to embark on the program’s first Big 12 Conference Championships. With four wins to conclude an already remarkable 2024 regular season, the Knights secured the fourth seed and a date with hosts, Oklahoma State, in a highly anticipated quarterfinals bout Friday afternoon.

Hosted at the Greenwood Tennis Center, which will go on to host the NCAA Tournament in May, UCF and the Cowboys will reunite for the third time in two years. This season’s rendition of the Big 12 Championships will be streamed live on ESPN+ (hosted by Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets). Live Stats will be available here.

Setting the Stage

Following the program's best 15-match start in its 52-year history, UCF’s 14-1 non-conference slate set the tone for first-year head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess and his squad. Tabbed to place sixth in the Big 12 by the preseason coaches poll, the Knights immediately made their mark in the Lone Star State.

After an opening defeat to No. 5 Texas, UCF responded with a dominating sweep over the conference’s most decorated school, Baylor, in Waco. The win catapulted the Knights into national attention and in their inaugural home match, captain Lleyton Cronje secured a dramatic three-set thriller to clinch the contest against the Cowboys. The win would propel the Knights to No. 24 in the nation.

A week later, UCF would cap off its four-match homestand with a convincing victory over Texas Tech, 4-2, and yet another tiebreak decider against BYU, as this time Paul Colin stepped up to garner the win, 4-3.

Currently ranked 30th ahead of Friday’s contest, the Knights took No. 3 TCU down to the wire in Fort Worth in their final regular-season finale, eventually coming up just short though, 4-3.

The regular-season champions, Texas, and either eighth-seeded BYU will serve as a potential semifinal opponent for the Knights and Cowboys.

Knight Notables

  • Paul Colin made his first appearance in the ITA Singles Rankings, checking in at No. 108 after a dominating display against TCU’s No. 72 Lui Maxted, battling back to take the match, 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, on court three.
  • Colin leads all Knights who have completed at least 10 matches in win percentage (.900) and slotted into court three for the first time in his career with wins over BYU and TCU.
  • Through 22 matches, the squad holds a remarkable 17-2 record on court four in singles. Four Knights have featured on the court, led by Santiago Giamichelle’s six wins. During Big 12 play, UCF was a dominating 5-1 and continued to pick up victories on the back three (12-4).
  • Seven of the eight Knights who have played in 2024 have clinched a match, with Mehdi Benchakroun’s four leading the way.

The Opponent

The two programs are quite familiar with each other, having battled three times over the past two seasons. In 2023, the Knights fell short in Stillwater, 5-2, in a non-conference contest. In March, UCF overcame an early 2-0 deficit, taking four of six courts in singles to tally the upset, eventually securing the Knights their first top-25 spot since early 2022.

Oklahoma State currently sits 36th in the nation, six spots being the 30th-ranked Knights who will make the journey to the Greenwood Tennis Center for the fourth occasion. The Cowboys bested No. 39 Baylor to secure the fifth seed and break a three-match skid following opening wins against BYU and Texas Tech.

No. 23 Tyler Zink leads the way in singles and got the better of Yassine Dlimi on court one in March’s contest. No. 85 Isaac Becroft and No. 96 Alex Garcia round out the Cowboys' presence in the top 125, as the former was on the receiving end of Cronje’s dramatic clincher on court two.

Zink and Becroft have been dominant down the stretch in doubles and sit 15th in the nation entering the conference championships.

 

 

 

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