ORLANDO - Following the team’s position among the nation’s best in the latest ITA rankings, the 11th-ranked UCF men’s tennis team backed up the placement with a swift sweep over UAB on Friday night to open a seven-match homestand.
Propelled by first sets across the courts and some dominating displays to open an early lead, the Knights (11-3) got back into the win column against the Blazers (4-6) with a controlled effort to begin the final stretch of non-conference play.
⚔️ KNIGHTS WIN ⚔️ pic.twitter.com/3QBDv22acH
— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) February 22, 2025
A difficult stretch of doubles competition at the ITA Indoor Championship put a dimmer on an otherwise strong season for the squad in the match’s opening round. Tonight, the Knights responded resoundingly with a pair of wins on courts one and two, along with a strong performance on court three.
Having played consistent tennis leading the UCF lineup in Waco, Texas, Liam Branger and Paul Colin were efficient in their win over UAB’s Noah Malige and Ondrej Valek, 6-4, clinching the point for UCF following Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez’s victory on two (6-2) in just under 30 minutes of play. Slotting in for Santiago Giamichelle, redshirt freshman Simeon Terziev made his third appearance of the season alongside Mehdi Benchakroun as the tandem’s contest went unfinished after building a 5-3 lead.
With momentum firmly in its corner, UCF immediately built leads with five first sets in singles, taking the early leads with some clutch breaks.
Sanchez would be the first to claim his bout, taking care of business on court six in the first of straight-set wins for the Knights, 6-3, 6-1. Having consistently pushed some of the nation’s best to tight duels through the first half of the 2025 campaign, Colin tallied his first win with a strong performance on court three against Ondrej Valek, 6-3, 6-4.
The clincher would come from none other than Branger who disposed of Conor Flynn, 6-3, 6-4, giving the Frenchman his fourth match-winner of the season.
Benchakroun and Nicolas Oliveira each won their first sets and were looking good in the second, while Dlimi was up a game looking to push his court-one bout to a third.
UP NEXT
UCF will be back in action on Sunday as it welcomes 71st-ranked Stetson to the USTA National Campus for a 6 p.m. contest.
Singles Results
- Yassine Dlimi (UCF) vs. Noah Malige (UAB) 3-6, 6-5, unfinished
- Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Georgios Nouchakis (UAB) 6-4, 4-0, unfinished
- Paul Colin (UCF) def. Ondrej Valek (UAB) 6-3, 6-4
- Liam Branger (UCF) def. Conor Flynn (UAB) 6-3, 6-4
- Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) vs. Hoan Mouret (UAB) 7-5, 3-3, unfinished
- Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Jake Anthony (UAB) 6-3, 6-1
Doubles Results
- Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Noah Malige/Ondrej Valek (UAB) 6-4
- Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Georgios Nouchakis/Jake Anthony (UAB) 6-2
- Simeon Terziev/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Hoan Mouret/Conor Flynn (UAB) 5-3, unfinished