No. 18 Men's Tennis Claims Third-Consecutive Win at Texas Tech to Conclude Regular SeasonNo. 18 Men's Tennis Claims Third-Consecutive Win at Texas Tech to Conclude Regular Season
Edward Finan / UCF Athletics

No. 18 Men's Tennis Claims Third-Consecutive Win at Texas Tech to Conclude Regular Season

by Alex Clough
Box Score (PDF) Opens in a new window

LUBBOCK, Texas - Just over a week ago, the Knights sat a match under .500 with three to go in conference play, needing a turn in form to enter the Big 12 tournament on a high.

Against a sturdy Texas Tech side, the No. 18 UCF men's tennis team fired off its third-consecutive win to close its regular-season slate, sweeping the Red Raiders in dominating fashion.

Picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll, head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess and his squad surpassed expectations once again, adding a victory to their four-win tally from 2024 to finish the season fourth in the conference.

A contested doubles point came down to a relatively new pairing on court three to complete the task. Texas Tech grabbed the upper hand as Mehdi Benchakroun and Santiago Giamichelle were bested on two, 6-2. Entering today’s duel on the back of six consecutive defeats, Yassine Dlimi and Emilio Sanchez flipped the script with a 6-4 triumph over Sebastian Abboud and Piotr Pawlak on court one to level the point.

Even at four-a-piece, Paul Colin and Nicolas Oliveira, making just their fourth appearance together, prevailed late to secure court three and the early advantage, 6-4, over Takeyasu Sekiguchi and Tyler Stewart.

The two squads split the opening sets in singles, with the 81st-ranked Benchakroun falling in a 20-point tiebreaker on court two. While his opening bout wrapped up, two Knights were putting the finishing touches on a pair of straight-set victories.

Oliveira was the first to the punch, taking down Thiago Guglieri on court five, 6-1, 6-4, to tally his fourth win in six matches. Benchakroun’s countryman, 77th-ranked Dlimi, followed shortly as he matched two 6-4 set wins on court one to defeat Pawlak and put the Knights within one.

While Colin, Benchakroun and Sanchez were each amidst or about to commence third sets, the faster-paced Giamichelle was winding down one of his on court four. The junior’s cool demeanor was evident in a dramatic winner-take-all tiebreak against Ludovico Vaccari to claim both the match and duel for the Black and Gold, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4).

UP NEXT

The Knights will now embark on their second Big 12 Championship next week in Waco, Texas. Seeking its first win in the competition, UCF will play as the fourth seed and open the competition on Friday, April 18, at either 4 p.m. or 7 p.m. CT.

Singles Results

  1. #77 Yasine Dlimi (UCF) def. Piotr Pawlak (TTU) 6-4, 6-4
  2. #81 Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Niksa Arsic (TTU) 6-7(9), 6-4, unfinished
  3. Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Tyler Stewart (TTU) 6-4, 6-7(4), 5-2, unfinished
  4. Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) def. Ludovico Vaccari (TTU) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)
  5. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Thiago Guglieri (TTU) 6-1, 6-4
  6. Emilio Sanchez (UCF) vs. Takeyasu Sekiguchi (TTU) 5-7, 6-2, 5-2, unfinished

Doubles Results

  1. Yassine Dlimi/Emilio Sanchez (UCF) def. Sebastian Abboud/Piotr Pawlak (TTU) 6-4
  2. Thiago Guglieri/Niksa Arsic (TTU) def. Mehdi Benchakroun/Santiago Giamichelle (UCF) 6-2
  3. Paul Colin/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Takeyasu Sekiguchi/Tyler Stewart (TTU) 6-4