No. 14 Men's Tennis Notches Second Doubleheader Win Against South Florida and MercerNo. 14 Men's Tennis Notches Second Doubleheader Win Against South Florida and Mercer

No. 14 Men's Tennis Notches Second Doubleheader Win Against South Florida and Mercer

by Gabriella Parra Bonet

ORLANDO - No. 14 UCF men’s tennis continued its winning ways, claiming two victories in its second doubleheader in just as many weekends on Sunday at the USTA National Campus.

The Citronauts began the day in what was UCF’s first space match of the season, taking on longtime foe, South Florida. The ‘Nauts took the match in sweep fashion, 4-0. They continued the winning streak against the Mercer Bears, taking that match with a 5-2 victory, moving to 4-0 on the season.

MATCH ONE 

The Knights kicked off their space match with a doubles win after moving to the indoor courts due to inclement weather.

Senior Luca Hotze and sophomore Nicolas Oliveira had an early win, securing a 6-3 victory against Bulls Stepan Mruzek and Timeo Gaillard on court three.

South Florida responded afterward with the Citronauts dropping the match on court one, but the momentum wasn't enough to secure the clinch after the tandem of Wissam Abderrahman and Mehdi Benchakroun made an incredible comeback after moving indoors, securing their match and the doubles point in a tiebreak, 7-6.

Continuing the same energy, UCF held onto the lead with a dominating singles match on court two. Abderrahman took the first triumph of singles play with an impressive performance, claiming a straight-set 6-0, 6-2 win.

Yassine Dlimi took down tough competition in No. 28 Hugo Car in a decisive 6-1, 6-4 on court one of the indoor facility. Shortly after, Oliveira clinched the victory for the Citronauts with a steady 6-2, 6-4 win to clinch the sweep against storied opponent South Florida.

Pedro Rodrigues, Paul Colin and Clement Lemire all had gone unfinished against their respective opponents while still holding strong.

Singles Results 

  1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. No. 28 Hugo Car (USF): 6-1, 6-4
  2. No. 59 Wissam Abderrahman (UCF) def. Ettore Danesi (USF): 6-0, 6-2
  3. Pedro Rodrigues (UCF) vs. Agustin Cuellar (USF): 6-0, 2-3, unfinished 
  4. Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Stepan Mruzek (USF): 3-6, 4-0, unfinished
  5. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Maximillian Mroz (USF): 6-2, 6-4
  6. Clement Lemire (UCF) vs. Timeo Gaillard (USF): 7-5, 2-0, unfinished

Doubles Results

  1. Hugo Car/James Newton (USF) def. Yassine Dlimi/Paul Colin 6-3
  2. Wissam Abderrahman/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Ettore Danesi/Max Mroz (USF) 7-6
  3. Luca Hotze/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Stepan Mruzek and Timeo Gaillard (USF) 6-3

MATCH TWO 

Keeping the momentum rolling, the Knights came into the second doubles session of the day, competing against the Bears in the evening.

Paired up on court one, the Knights saw the duo of seniors Colin and Dlimi come out on top against their Mercer opponents, 6-1.

Over on court three, Oliveira and Hotze continued to show off their chemistry in a 6-3 victory. To finish off the second doubles session of the day, Abderrahman and Benchakroun notched another doubles win, this time at 6-3.

After the second successful doubles session of the day, Lemire opened up the singles play, quickly claiming the Knights’ first win against Amen Prince Gandonou, taking his match on court four 6-1, 6-1.

On the front two courts, seniors Dlimi and Colin created a dynamic scene with similar scores, finishing just minutes apart. Dlimi delivered another singles win against Hod’Abalo Isak Padio, securing the victory at 6-1, 6-4. Minutes later, Colin handled business against Nemanja Stefanovic in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1.

Finishing off a victorious night for the Black and Gold, Oliveira secured an outstanding win against Mercer’s Alex Aldaz, coming in at 6-4, 6-1.

The only contests dropped by the Knights came from courts five and six, as Hotze fell short and Kai-Luca Ampaw had to retire.

Singles Results 

  1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Hod’Abalo Isak Padio (Mercer): 6-1, 6-4
  2. Paul Colin (UCF) def. Nemanja Stefanovic (Mercer): 6-4, 6-1
  3. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Alex Aldaz (Mercer): 6-4, 6-1
  4. Clement Lemire (UCF) def. Amen Prince Gandonou (Mercer): 6-1, 6-1
  5. Shingo Masuda (Mercer) def. Luca Hotze (UCF): 6-2, 6-2
  6. Esteban Davila Gasser (Mercer) def. Kai-Luca Ampaw: 4-5, 5-0, ret.

Doubles Results

  1. Yassine Dlimi/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Hod’Abalo Isak Padio/Nemanja Stefanovic (Mercer): 6-1
  2. Wissam Abderrahman/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Alex Aldaz/Amen Prince Gandonou (Mercer): 6-3
  3. Luca Hotze/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Howell Burns/Esteban Davila Gasser (Mercer): 6-3

UP NEXT

The Knights head to Berkeley, Calif., for ITA Kickoff Weekend on January 23-24. They open play against No. 19 Southern California, followed by a matchup with either No. 21 Oklahoma or No. 15 California, determined by the outcome of day one.