ORLANDO – Following a historic spring season, the UCF men’s tennis team has unveiled its fall schedule, as announced by head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess on Tuesday.
The Knights will open the fall campaign with a strong start, traveling to Tulsa, Okla., to compete in the ITA All-American Championships. Held at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center, the week-long tournament will run from Sept. 20–28 and serve as an early opportunity for UCF players to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships, with ten singles athletes advancing from the event.
The Black and Gold will then return home to host the UCF Invite from Oct. 3–5. The invitational will feature programs from across the Sunshine State, including FAU, USF, and Stetson, giving the Knights their first home-court action of the fall.
Just days later, the Knights will head north to Gainesville for the ITA Southeast Regionals, taking place Oct. 8–13. The regional tournament will offer another pathway to the NCAA Individual Championships and will feature top competition from across the region.
The final invitational of the fall season will take place at the Rome Tennis Center in Georgia, where UCF will compete in the Rome Invite from Oct. 24–26. The event will bring together collegiate programs for a competitive close to the regular invitational slate.
To wrap up the guaranteed portion of the fall schedule, the Knights will participate in the ITA Sectionals hosted by Georgia. If qualified, select athletes will return to Orlando to compete in the NCAA Individual Championships at the USTA National Campus. The final fall competition, the championship is scheduled for Nov. 18–23.
The fall slate is the first chance to catch this year’s roster in action. This roster features five returners and five newcomers. The returners are highlighted by the Moroccan duo of Mehdi Benchakroun and Yassine Dlimi, seniors Luca Hotze and Paul Colin, as well as sophomore Nicolas Oliveira.
Joining them are three transfers and two freshmen. The transfers include junior Wissam Abderrahman from Clemson as well as sophomores Clement Lemire transferring from Oregon and Kai-Luca Ampaw from Gonzaga. The true freshman on the roster includes Pedro Rodrigues, a former junior National Champion of Brazil, and Fadi Bidan, the third-highest player hailing from Lebanon.