No. 19 Men's Tennis Secures Third Top-10 Win of the Season over No. 10 Arizona, 4-3No. 19 Men's Tennis Secures Third Top-10 Win of the Season over No. 10 Arizona, 4-3
Edward Finan / UCF Athletics

No. 19 Men's Tennis Secures Third Top-10 Win of the Season over No. 10 Arizona, 4-3

by Alex Clough
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ORLANDO - The No. 19 UCF men’s tennis team proved that lightning can indeed strike the same place twice, topping No. 10 Arizona for the second time this season for the program’s third-ranked win of the campaign.

In a gritty display on court two, Mehdi Benchakroun battled through a three-set thriller with ninth-ranked Jay Friend, stepping up to the challenge in a tiebreak, leaving the crowd at the USTA National Campus on their feet.

Prior to Lloyd Bruce-Burgess’ arrival to the UCF men’s tennis program in the summer of 2023, the Knights played 838 matches at the DI level without a top-10 win. Now, just 45 duels into his tenure and across a 14-match stretch, they have three.

UCF 4-3 Clinch-Wins Since 2024:

  • Feb. 11, 2024: vs. Miami (clinched 7-0 start, best in program history)
  • Mar. 28, 2024: vs. No. 24 Oklahoma State (first-ever Big 12 home match)
  • Apr. 6, 2024: vs. BYU (down multiple match points)
  • May 3, 2024: vs. Florida (first-ever win over Florida, second first-round win in program history)
  • Jan. 26, 2025: at No. 6 Arizona (clinched first-ever ITA Kickoff Weekend title)
  • Feb. 9, 2025: at Florida Atlantic (came back down 3-0)
  • Mar. 16, 2025: vs No. 10 Arizona (third-highest ranked win program history)

Authoring the same doubles lineup used to snatch the early lead in Tucson earlier this season, the Knights secured similar fortunes this afternoon. While the Wildcats once again took court two courtesy of the 58th-ranked Jay Friend and Eric Padgham, 6-2, UCF responded emphatically with a pair of 6-2 wins themselves.

Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle secured their perfect weekend with a strong performance over Arizona’s Filip Gustafsoon and Glib Sekachov. Minutes later, the lead was officially in the Knights’ corner as Liam Branger and Paul Colin picked up a ranked win over No. 54 Colton Smith and Inaki Cabrera-Bello.

Similar to the squad’s contest with No. 2 TCU on Friday, they tallied four first-set wins on each of the first four courts. One of the strongest singles lineups in the country, the Wildcats offered three athletes among the top-60 and a pair on courts one and two who sit within the top 10.

85th-ranked Yassine Dlimi took his opening set on court one against the sixth-ranked Smith, joining his fellow Moroccan on two who claimed the early advantage over ninth-ranked Friend.

While Nicolas Oliveira fell to Casper Christensen on court six, 6-3, 6-1, the Knights responded with a pair of wins from the Frenchmen. Branger, who clinched the ITA Kickoff Weekend bout in Arizona earlier this season, was victorious once again, this time defeating the 60th-ranked Zoran Ludoski, 6-3, 6-3.

On court four, Colin had to break serve to force a tiebreak, eventually fending off Gustafsson and doubling the Knights’ lead with a 7-5, 7-6(4) result. The cushion wouldn’t be long-lasting as Giamichelle was defeated on court five in straight sets, 7-6(3), 6-4.

Smith overcame his first-set defeat, eventually taking control of the match from Dlimi, 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, and leveling the overall contest at three-all.

Battling through cramps as his court-three decider took center stage, Benchakroun continued to fend off Friend, as each held serve en route to the tiebreak. The junior wouldn’t let it come down to the wire, though, immediately taking control of the decider to claim his highest-ranked career win, 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4).

UP NEXT

The first Big 12 road trip of 2025 will see the Knights make the 2,000-mile journey to Utah for a pair of contests at No. 71 BYU and No. 52 Utah.

Singles Results

  1. #3 Colton Smith (UA) def. #85 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 
  2. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. #9 Jay Friend (UA) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) 
  3. Liam Branger (UCF) def. #60 Zoran Ludoski (UA) 6-3, 6-3 
  4. Paul Colin (UCF) def. Filip Gustafsson (UA) 7-5, 7-6 (7-4) 
  5. Alexander Rozin (UA) def. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 
  6. Casper Christensen (UA) def. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) 6-3, 6-1

Doubles Results

  1. Liam Branger/Paul Colin def. #54 Colton Smith/Ianki Cabrera-Bello (UA) 6-2
  2. #58 Jay Friend/Eric Padgham (UA) def. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) 6-2
  3. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Filip Gustafsson/Glib Sekachov UA) 6-2