ORLANDO - After tallying its fourth top-10 win of the season and a pair of ranked victories in Waco at the Big 12 Championship, the UCF men’s tennis team jumped four spots to 14th in the latest ITA rankings, released Tuesday afternoon.
In the second meeting between the Knights and second-ranked TCU, UCF pulled off a remarkable comeback after falling into a 3-0 hole, firing off four consecutive courts in singles to secure another historic win for the program.
While the Black and Gold saw their perfect record against No. 11 Arizona this season snapped, falling in the conference title match, 4-1, a pair of wins earlier in the season against the Wildcats continue to highlight a strong resume for the squad ahead of the NCAA Tournament selection show.
The front-two Moroccan tandem of Yassine Dlimi and Mehdi Benchakroun each continued their stay in the top 100. The former’s momentum-shifting straight-set victory over TCU’s seventh-ranked Jack Pinnington propelled the junior to his highest-career rankings at No. 64.
Benchakroun served as the clincher in the squad’s quarterfinal sweep over No. 48 Utah, with the two-time Big 12 player of the week continuing his team-leading 16 wins.
A bright spot of Sunday’s championship match came in doubles and the return of a familiar face. With courts two and three being split between the Knights and Wildcats, it was Liam Branger and Paul Colin, making their first appearance together in six matches, who prevailed in a dramatic tiebreak over 62nd-ranked Jay Friend and Eric Padgham, 7-6(5). The triumph jumped the duo nearly 20 spots to No. 45 in the nation.
UP NEXT
The Knights will await their next steps during the NCAA Tournament selection show on Monday. Currently within the hosting zone, it would mark the first regional to be hosted in Orlando since 2021.