No. 21 Men's Tennis Primed for ITA Indoor Championship, Facing No. 4 Ohio State FridayNo. 21 Men's Tennis Primed for ITA Indoor Championship, Facing No. 4 Ohio State Friday

No. 21 Men's Tennis Primed for ITA Indoor Championship, Facing No. 4 Ohio State Friday

by Alex Clough

WACO, Texas - Propelled by a historic performance in Tucson, Arizona last month, the 21st-ranked UCF men’s tennis team arrived in Waco on Wednesday afternoon with a new opportunity on the horizon.

For the first time, the Knights will compete at the ITA Indoor Championship this weekend at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Tennis Center, one of 16 teams still vying for the crown. Similar to the path presented at the Kickoff Weekend in January, UCF will be among seven other ranked programs in the Baylor Region, drawing No. 4 Ohio State in the first round.

The Knights and Buckeyes will open action on Friday at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT, preceding three more matches in Waco. Situated in a compass format, each team will be guaranteed three contests before the final four will meet at SMU from February 17-18.

LAST TIME OUT

A nervy few days in South Florida saw the Knights split a pair of contested matches with Miami and FAU. Having tallied its seventh-consecutive doubles point, UCF couldn’t take advantage of good spells in singles play, being handed its first loss of the season by the Hurricanes, 4-2.

With one bout already in the loss column, the Black and Gold were staring down a 3-0 deficit to the Owls two days later, having fallen in an early hole after doubles defeat and FAU wins on courts one and three.

However, a staple of this program over the last 18 months has come through its unwavering resilience. Santiago Giamichelle sparked the comeback with his eighth win of the season, followed by a trio who brushed off defeats to Miami with much-needed victories to swing the momentum.

Wins from Mehdi Benchakroun and Liam Branger were capitalized on by Yassine Dlimi’s three-set triumph on court two, securing the Knights with a dramatic 4-3 victory.

QUICK HITS

  • After jumping out to the team’s first 8-0 start in history, the Knights will serve as the new kids on the block this weekend as they embark on the ITA Indoor Championships in Waco. The field consists of 14 ranked programs, with the Knights rounding out that group at No. 21.
  • With a pair of wins last week, junior Santiago Giamichelle reached the half-century mark in career collegiate singles victories. Since his arrival to UCF prior in the fall of 2023, the Argentina native has lost just two dual matches, an incredible testament to the fight within the captain.
  • Looking to follow in his footsteps, two-time Big 12 Player of the Week Mehdi Benchakroun currently holds 49 singles wins to his name. The junior is a perfect 6-0 on court three and 8-1 overall in 2025.
  • The Knights’ doubles efforts have been completely reversed from last season’s struggles, as UCF has taken the early advantage in eight of 10 matches, including a streak of seven consecutive that ended on Sunday. The aforementioned tandem of Benchakroun and Giamichelle is 7-0, with wins on court two and three.

THE OPPONENT

There will be no time to soak in the experience for the Knights as they draw reigning champions Ohio State on Friday. The fourth-ranked Buckeyes claimed last year’s title with a comeback win over eventual NCAA champions TCU. Led by Ty Tucker, who is in his fourth decade with the Big Ten powerhouse, the squad entered the contest 7-1 on the season with a lone defeat to No. 2 Wake Forest.

The 2024 crown was the third in program history (2014, 2019), having advanced to the final seven times and holding an eye-catching 44-17 record in the event all time. On the losing end of the Knights’ 4-3 triumph over Florida in the NCAA first round a season ago, former Gator Aidan Kim leads the singles lineup, holding a 3-2 record on court one.