WACO, Texas - The No. 21 UCF men’s tennis team’s ITA Indoor Championship run ended this afternoon at the Jim and Nell Hawkins Indoor Tennis Center, falling to No. 11 Stanford in the tournament’s first quarterfinal.
While the 4-0 scoreline was indicative of the Cardinal’s efforts, the match saw highly contested doubles matches fall Stanford’s way. Multiple Knights put up a fight in singles, though a trio of straight-set defeats closed the path ahead and the squad’s hope of advancing to the final four.
A competitive doubles point saw just three breaks, with each side playing strong tennis throughout. Having dropped the early opportunity yesterday, each contest surpassed eight games with just one between them.
At three-all, Liam Branger and Paul Colin broke Stanford’s Max Basing and Kyle Kang, eventually prevailing 6-4 to level the point after the Cardinal’s claimed court three. At this stage in the ITA Indoor Championship, the doubles point is as vital as ever, though, for the second day in a row, the Knights fell down early. Stanford’s Samir Banerjee and Alexander Razeghi edged out court two over Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle, 7-5, to provide UCF with a difficult road ahead.
In singles, the former would be the lone Knight to seal a lead, winning his first set over Kang on court three. His doubles partner pushed Hudson Rivera to a tiebreak before falling 7-1, giving the Cardinal a clear edge as the team embarked on second sets.
The first court to fall would be the anchor, as yesterday’s freshman hero Nicolas Oliveira couldn’t find his rhythm opposite Nicholas Godsick, 6-1, 6-1. Amidst the two-point deficit, the Knights put up a fight as they stared down a quarterfinals exit, with Dlimi bouncing back in the second set against Banerjee, a former Junior Wimbledon champion, via multiple breaks late in the tie.
Tighter sets still couldn’t delay the Stanford clinch, as 114th-ranked Basing defeated Colin on court two, 6-0, 6-4, before Branger fell to the same fate on four, dropping the contest to Henry Van Der Schulenburg, 6-3, 6-2.
Benchakroun was amidst his second set, level at three-all, while Dlimi was still going toe-to-toe with the 31st-ranked Banerjee. Giamichelle was down a game in the second on court five.
UP NEXT
Similar to yesterday’s highs, there won’t be much time for the Knights to dwell on a difficult defeat as they’re set to play the loser of No. 1 TCU and No. 9 San Diego tomorrow at 1 p.m. ET/noon CT.
Singles Results
1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) vs. #31 Samir Banerjee (STAN) 1-6, 6-3, 1-2, unfinished
2. #114 Max Basing (STAN) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 6-0, 6-4
3. #108 Mehdi Benchakroun vs. (UCF) Kyle Kang (STAN) 6-4, 3-3, unfinished
4. #119 Henry V.D. Schulenburg (STAN) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 6-3, 6-2
5. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) vs. Hudson Rivera (STAN) 6-7, 2-3, unfinished
6. Alexander Razeghi (STAN) def. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) 6-1, 6-1
Doubles Results
1. Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Max Basing/Kyle Kang (STAN) 6-4
2. Samir Banerjee/Alexander Razeghi (STAN) def. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 7-5
3. Nicholas Godsick/Henry V.D. Schulenburg (STAN) def. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 6-4