ORLANDO - The UCF men’s tennis team didn't drop a point en route to a pair of victories at the USTA National Campus Friday. First disposing of the Eagles, the Knights took care of business against the Golden Eagles in the night cap, concluding a successful season-opening homestand.
MATCH ONE
Once again, the Knights offered a pair of new doubles tandems after tallying a convincing doubles point against Wichita State on Wednesday night. Through the changes, the one constant has been Santiago Giamichelle, who moved to 4-0 after taking court two alongside Mehdi Benchakroun, 6-4.
Making their debuts in 2025, junior Luca Hotze was joined by redshirt freshman Simeon Terziev. Instantly finding momentum, the duo were efficient in their dismantling of the Eagles pairing, taking court three, 6-1.
Playing to clinch for the first this season, Emilio Sanchez set the tone as he took care of business on court five against FGCU’s CJ Smith, 6-2, 6-2, for his first win of the campaign. Two familiar faces finished off the contest as freshman Nicolas Oliveira moved to 3-0 on the season, this time taking court four, 6-3, 6-1.
Benchakroun tallied his third clinch of the season on court three against the Eagles’ Guglielmo Stefanacci, 6-2, 6-3. Yasine Dlimi and Paul Colin each took the first sets on courts one and two before going unfinished, while debutant Adriano Dzhenev was amidst a two-set battle with Ninad Raut.
Won down, one to go ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/XHhHTbhNP4
— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) January 17, 2025
Singles Results
1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) vs. Hugo Magnusson (FGCU) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
2. Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Jonathan Baron (FGCU) 6-4, 4-4, unfinished
3. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Guglielmo Stefanacci (FGCU) 6-2, 6-3
4. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Harry Michalowski (FGCU) 6-3, 6-1
5. Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. CJ Smith (FGCU) 6-2, 6-2
6. Adriano Dzhenev (UCF) vs. Ninad Raut (FGCU) 2-6, 2-4, unfinished
Doubles Results
- Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) vs. CJ Smith/Hugo Magnusson (FGCU) 5-5, unfinished
- 2. Santiago Giamichelle/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Guglielmo Stefanacci/Jonathan Baron (FGCU) 6-4
- 3. Simeon Terziev/Luca Hotze (UCF) def. Harry Michalowski/Pablo Paternostro (FGCU) 6-1
MATCH TWO
The Knights only made one change to their first triumph of the day, deciding to shift up Dlimi and Sanchez to court one, along with Hotze and Terziev to two, making room for Benchakroun and Oliveira, who made his doubles debut.
Dlimi and Sanchez got the Black and Gold off and running with an efficient win against the Golden Eagles’ Rasmus Becker and Saheb Sodhi, 6-3. Hotze and Terziev completed their perfect day with a mirroring victory on two, 6-2, clinching the Knights the early advantage.
Each Knights took their opening set in singles, holding onto the momentum and never letting up. The first court to fall came as no surprise, with Benchakroun’s triumph over Niklas Jensen on two, 6-0, 6-1, putting the Knights up two. Across five singles bouts thus far, the Moroccan has dropped just 14 games to his 60 and was just one game away from yet another clean sweep after tallying the Knights’ first since 2021 vs. Louisiana last week.
On court six, Dzhenev would claim his first collegiate dual-match victory, 6-2, 6-1, over Southern Miss’ Maxin Vulic. Sanchez’s second win of the day, this time on court four, 6-2, 6-2, would serve as the clincher for the Knights.
Terziev joined his fellow Bulgarian in securing his first dual-match triumph, beating Ricards Spaks on court five, 6-3, 6-2. Court one would be claimed by Dlimi, 7-5, 6-2, who moves to 4-0 on the season. The seventh and final point came on court three as Oliveira showed his toughness, battling back after an early first-set deficit to defeat Olle Noltorp, 6-4, 6-1.
No fly zone 🚫
— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) January 18, 2025
⚔️ KNIGHTS WIN ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/3i6uT80A1d
Singles Results
- Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Sahen Sodhi (SM) 7-5, 6-2
- Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Niklas Jensen (SM) 6-0, 6-1
- Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Olle Noltorp (SM) 6-4, 6-1
- Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Ritabrata Sarkar (SM) 6-2, 6-2
- Simeon Terziev (UCF) def. Ricards Spaks (SM) 6-3, 6-2
- Adriano Dzhenev (UCF) def. Maxin Vulic (SM) 6-2, 6-1
Doubles Results
- Emilio Sanchez/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Sahen Sodhi/Rasmus Becker (SM) 6-3
- Luca Hotze/Simeon Terziev (UCF) def. Niklas Jensen/Ricards Spaks (SM) 6-2
- Nicolas Oliveira/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Olle Noltorp/Ritabrata Sarkar (SM) 5-3, unfinished
UP NEXT
The Knights will make their first coast-to-coast journey of the year as they embark on their first ITA Kickoff Weekend since 2023 and first under head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess. UCF will play Big 12 foes Oklahoma State on Saturday in Tucson, Arizona, followed by a contest with either the hosts Wildats or USC on Sunday.