Men's Tennis Makes History, Advances to ITA Indoor Championships with Win Over No. 6 ArizonaMen's Tennis Makes History, Advances to ITA Indoor Championships with Win Over No. 6 Arizona

Men's Tennis Makes History, Advances to ITA Indoor Championships with Win Over No. 6 Arizona

by Alex Clough
Box Score (PDF)

TUCSON, Ariz. - Since head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess and assistant Kareem Allaf took over the UCF men’s tennis program, history has followed every step of the way.

Sunday afternoon at the LaNelle Robson Tennis Center, the Knights wielded their sword into the record books, defeating No. 6 Arizona 4-3 to advance to UCF’s first-ever ITA Indoor Championships.

Down 3-1 to the Wildcats, the mentality took over. Three-straight wins propelled the Knights to their highest-ranked win in program history as UCF has now jumped out to two consecutive 7-0 starts, an honor achieved in such dramatic fashion.

A notable improvement from last season’s squad has been the growth in doubles play. Sunday afternoon, the work that Bruce-Burgess and Allaf instilled over the fall paid dividends against one of the nation’s best. 

An early defeat on court two, as Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez couldn’t find their stride en route to a 6-1 result, was swiftly reversed with two prominent victories on courts one and three. The latter came as no surprise given their form, with Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle winning their fourth consecutive match via a 6-4 win versus Arizona’s Casper Gustafsson and Cole Stelse.

Minutes later, Liam Branger and Paul Colin brushed off a tough defeat the day prior to claim their first win together leading the doubles lineup, besting Colton Smith and Inaki Cabrera-Bello, 6-4, to secure the early advantage for the Knights.

UCF’s early momentum didn’t last long though as Arizona showed why it's currently ranked sixth in the country. The top-10 tandem of No. 5 Colton Smith and No. 6 Jay Friend defeated Colin and Dlimi on courts one and two. That was followed by Nicolas Oliveira’s defeat on six against Alexander Rozin, 6-4, 6-1. Within the blink of an eye, the Wildcats had taken back control of the contest and were on the brink of clinching.

However, the tandem of Benchakroun and Giamichelle tallied their second matches of the day to level the contest at three-all. Benchakroun secured his sixth win of the season against 61st-ranked Zoran Ludoski, 6-1, 6-4. His fellow junior took court five, 7-5, 6-3, from Filip Gustafsson, flipping the match on its head.

Tabbed “The Clincher” after leading the team a season ago in match-winning points, it was Branger once again who brought the contest home. After dropping the first set, 6-1, the Frenchman battled back to force a contentious third. With his team right beside him, Branger broke serve to claim the match 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

UCF will join 15 other programs in either Fort Worth or Waco, Texas, from February 14-18 for a chance to claim the ITA indoor title. 

Singles Results

  1. No. 5 Colton Smith (ARIZ) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 6-1, 6-3
  2. No. 6 Jay Friend (ARIZ) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-3, 6-1
  3. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. No. 61 Zoran Ludoski (ARIZ) 6-1, 6-4
  4. Liam Branger (UCF) def. Casper Christenson (ARIZ), 1-6, 6-1, 6-3
  5. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Filip Gustafsson (ARIZ) 7-5, 6-3
  6. Alexander Rozin (ARIZ) def. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles Results

  1. Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Colton Smith/Inaki Cabrera-Bello (ARIZ) 6-4
  2. Jay Friend/Eric Padgham (ARIZ) def. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 6-1
  3. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Casper Gustafsson/Cole Stelse (ARIZ) 6-4