ORLANDO - The No. 13 UCF men’s tennis team fell in its final non-conference match against South Florida on Sunday afternoon, 6-1.
An early deficit presented a difficult road ahead, as the Knights (14-4) couldn’t replicate a 4-3 triumph in Tampa against the Bulls earlier this season (12-3).
The Knights tasted doubles defeat for the first time since in five matches, dropping contests on courts two and three. After grabbing court one after Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez dominated Hugo Car and Stepan Mruzek, 6-1.
South Florida responded, however, as first-time duo Paul Colin and Luca Hotze fell on three, before Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giammichele were handed just their third loss of the season on court two.
Making his second-consecutive start, Simeon Terzive joined Giamichelle in being the lone Knights to take first sets.
The Bulls grew their lead to three after Dlimi dropped his court-one bout with Hugo Car, 7-5, 6-4, followed shortly by Colin on three by the same score. Sanchez and Benchakroun each responded with second-set triumphs to push their contests to third.
The former’s spark grew deep into the third, as Sanchez eventually tallied his third win in three days, defeating Stepan Mruzek on court five, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. Benchakroun, on the other hand, couldn’t carry his second-set performance into the third, losing court three to Agustin Cuellar, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6.
While Giamichelle dropped his court-four contest through retirement in the third, Terziev fell on court six to former Knight Toto Llanes, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5.
UP NEXT
The Knights will be back in action to open Big 12 play next weekend for a must-see slate at the USTA National Campus. UCF and No. 2 TCU will meet on Friday before the squad’s second bout with No. 8 Arizona on Sunday.
Singles Results
- Hugo Car (USF) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 7-5, 6-4
- Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) Agustin Cuellar (USF) 1-6, 6-2, 1-6
- Elijah Cham (USF) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 7-5, 6-4
- Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) Gughi Verdese (USF) 7-6(5), 4-6, 1-2, unfinished
- Emilio Sanchez (UCF) Stepan Mruzek (USF) 3-6, 6-4, 7-5
- Simeon Terziev (UCF) Toto Llanes (USF) 3-6, 6-4, 5-7
Doubles Results
- Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) Hugo Car/Stepan Mruzek (USF) 6-1
- Ben Hudson/Toto Llanes (USF) Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 7-5
- Agustin Cuellar/Ettore Danesi (USF) Paul Colin/Luca Hotze (UCF) 6-3