ORLANDO - The No. 19 UCF men’s tennis team battled throughout a difficult conference-opener against No. 2 TCU before eventually falling 4-2 Friday night at the USTA National Campus.
A vibrant performance in doubles play gave the Knights (14-5, 0-1) an lead to build upon, though the reigning national champions wouldn’t roll over, as the Horned Frogs (13-2, 1-0) bounced back with wins across the front three courts to claim the duel.
Jumping out to early leads via breaks to open play, the Black and Gold looked all the part in the opening half-hour. Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle tallied their 10th win of the season, defeating TCU’s Filip Apltauer and Duncan Chan on court three, 6-3.
Seconds later, Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez claimed their eye-catching sixth-consecutive win, securing the early advantage with a 6-2 win on court two. Liam Branger and Paul Colin were leading the 65th-ranked duo of Jack Pinnington and Cooper Woestendick 4-3 before going unfinished.
Four Knights garnered first-set triumphs, a promising spell that looked to give the squad the upper hand, as they needed just three courts to claim the match. However, before being able to capitalize on the leads, TCU responded as Benchakroun fell on court two to No. 15 Lui Maxted, 6-1, 6-3.
Giamichelle quickly gave the Knights the lead once again as the junior returned to the win column on court five, defeating Roger Pascual, 6-3, 6-2. The Horned Frogs continued to crack down on UCF’s first-set advantages, eventually pushing three courts to a third set.
They leveled once again on six as Emilio Sanchez was bested by Julian Alonso, 7-5, 6-2. While Branger dominated his first set against Cooper Woestendick, the TCU freshman battled back to give his team the lead, 1-6, 6-4, 6-3. The 20th-ranked Pinnington went on to clinch the match with his court-one win over Dlimi, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Colin was level at two-all in his court-four bout with Albert Pedrico.
UP NEXT
A rematch with No. 10 Arizona awaits the Knights on Sunday afternoon at the USTA National Campus. The Knights defeated the then-No. 6 Wildcats in Tucson back in January to advance to the ITA Indoor Championships.
Singles Results
- #20 Jack Pinnington (TCU) def. #85 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
- #15 Lui Maxted (TCU) def. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) 6-1, 6-3
- Cooper Woestendick (TCU) def. Liam Branger (UCF) 1-6, 6-4, 6-3
- Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Albert Pedrico (TCU) 7-6 (7-4), 3-6, 2-2, unfinished
- Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Roger Pascual (TCU) 6-3, 6-2
- Julian Alonso (TCU) def. Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles Results
- Liam Branger/Paul Colin (UCF) vs. #65 Jack Pinnington/Cooper Woestendick (TCU) 4-3, unfinished
- Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Lui Maxted/Kaj Quirijns (TCU) 6-2
- Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Filip Apltauer/Duncan Chan (TCU) 6-3