CORAL GABLES, Florida - The No. 21 UCF men’s tennis team suffered its first defeat of 2025 on Friday afternoon, dropping a back-and-forth match against Miami, 4-2.
While the Knights (8-1) secured the early lead, the Hurricanes (4-2) pulled away in singles play with wins on the front three courts.
Opposite a strong Hurricanes lineup in doubles, UCF took just over 30 minutes to grab the match’s first point.
Juniors Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle made quick work of Miami’s Nacho Serra Sanchez and Leonardo Dal Boni, taking the court-two contest 6-2. The tandem moves to an impressive 6-0 on the season, having dropped just 15 games across the stretch.
It wouldn’t be long before the advantage was officially in the Knights’ corner, as another junior tandem of Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez bested the Hurricanes’ Mehdi Sadaoui and Jules Garot, 6-3, after slotting down to court three.
French duo, Liam Branger and Paul Colin were up 4-3 on the 67th-ranked tandem of Martin Katz and Antonio Prat before the bout went unfinished. The point marked the seventh consecutive in doubles play for the Black and Gold, achieving the feat for the first time since 2021.
Singles play began with multiple first sets pushing past 10 games, as Benchakroun and Giamichelle prevailed in a pair of tiebreaks on courts two and four, joining Branger and Sanchez in collecting the advantage.
After taking four of six first sets, the Hurricanes responded with levelers on courts two, five and six, though Giamichelle would hold firm, defeating Del Boni on four, 7-6(2), 6-3. The Argentinian is a perfect 7-0 in 2025 and continues the squad’s winning ways on the back three.
Dlimi battled throughout a back-and-forth contest with Serra Sanchez on three, his first match on the court since 2023, though eventually fell in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4. While there were spells of promising play from then on out, the Hurricanes continued to find games in the third set.
After a first-set tiebreaker, Prat took hold of the momentum on two, handing Benchakroun his first loss of the season, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0. On court one, Colin authored an immense performance to push 67th-ranked Katz to a third, though the junior eventually fell just short of the win, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
While Miami took the lead, there was still plenty of tennis to play out, as Branger and Sanchez were amidst contested third sets. However, Mehdi Sadaoui broke Branger late on before holding serve to clinch the bout for the Hurricanes, 1-6, 6-3, 7-5. Sanchez’s duel on six would go unfinished, as the Spaniard held a 4-3 lead in the third.
The Knights will be back in action Sunday at noon. They stop in Boca Raton for a meeting with Florida Atlantic before returning home to Orlando ahead of the program's first ITA Indoor Championships in Waco, Texas, next week.
Singles Results
1. No. 67 Martin Katz (UM) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
2. Antonio Prat (UM) def. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0
3. Nacho Serra Sanchez (UM) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 7-5, 6-4
4. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Leonardo Del Boni (UM) 7-6(2), 6-3
5. Mehdi Sadaoui (UM) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 1-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Emilio Sanchez (UCF) vs. Jules Garot (UM) 6-3, 6-7(1), 4-3, unfinished
Doubles Results
1. Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) vs. No. 82 Martin Katz/Antonio Prat (UM) 4-3, unfinished
2. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Nacho Serra Sanchez/Leonardo Del Boni (UM) 6-2
3. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Mehdi Sadaoui/Jules Garot (UM) 6-3