ORLANDO - The UCF men’s tennis team made a strong impression on the ITA preseason rankings, landing four placements across the polls, headlined by freshman Pedro Rodrigues, who debuts inside the top five among newcomers.
Rodrigues enters his collegiate career ranked No. 4 on the ITA Newcomers list and No. 79 in the national singles rankings. A native of Brazil, Rodrigues arrives at UCF with an already impressive resume, including a career-high ATP ranking of 562 and a peak junior ITF ranking of No. 21. He has competed on some of the sport’s biggest stages, including the junior editions of the French Open and Wimbledon.
Rodrigues becomes just the second member of the Black and Gold to be ranked inside the top ten of the ITA Newcomers list. He follows former Knight Juan Pablo Grassi Mazzuchi, who was ranked No. 3 in 2018.
Also earning preseason recognition is returning standout Mehdi Benchakroun, who comes in at No. 42 in the singles rankings. The Moroccan native is coming off a stellar junior season, finishing with a 17-5 singles record and an 18-7 mark in doubles. Benchakroun reached a career-best ITA singles ranking of No. 69 on March 18 and was named to the All-Big 12 Singles First Team after earning Big 12 Player of the Week honors twice during the season.
