ORLANDO – The UCF men’s tennis team has climbed two spots in the the latest ITA rankings, slotting in at No. 12 following two doubleheader sweeps at the USTA National Campus.
The Knights are joined by three other Big 12 opponents, only trailing behind No. 5 TCU. The remaining Big 12 programs include Arizona, who dropped five spots from the January 7 poll to No. 16 and Baylor who moved three spots down landing at 19. The Black and Gold are the only representatives from the conference who moved up in placement.
UCF’s next opponent in Southern California dropped two spots down to No. 21, while the one of the two potential opponents in Oklahoma moved four spots from No. 21 to No. 17 following an upset against then No. 11 Arizona. The final potential opponent in host school California (15) remained in the same position.
UCF returns to the USTA National Campus in February after ITA Kickoff Weekend for a pair of matchups against teams receiving votes in the latest poll. The Knights open the month on February 1 against familiar in‑state rival Florida, which sits just outside the current rankings. Later in the month, UCF hosts Clemson on February 20, with the Tigers also appearing among the teams receiving votes after recently dropping out of the top 25.
The Knights have had a dominating start to their 2026 campaign. The season began with a sweep against FGCU before rolling past Louisiana in a season-opening doubleheader. The Knights set the tone early with strong doubles play in both matches, highlighted by seniors Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin, along with the new pairing of Nicolas Oliveira and Luca Hotze.
Freshman Pedro Rodrigues made a statement in his collegiate debut with a flawless 6‑0, 6‑0 win, while Oliveira, Colin and Clement Lemire all delivered straight‑set victories to secure the sweep. Against Louisiana, Lemire and Colin struck quickly again, Oliveira battled through a three‑set thriller and both Wissam Abderrahman and Mehdi Benchakroun staged gritty comeback wins. UCF dropped only one singles match across the entire day, starting the season with a commanding 2‑0 record.
The Black and Gold kept its early-season momentum rolling on Sunday at the USTA National Campus, sweeping its second straight doubleheader to move to 4‑0. The Knights opened the day with their first space match of the year, dominating longtime rival South Florida in a 4‑0 sweep. After securing the doubles point indoors due to weather, UCF powered through singles behind commanding wins from Abderrahman, Oliveira and Dlimi, who defeated No. 28 Hugo Car, to close out the match.
The team carried the energy into the evening matchup against Mercer, taking the doubles point for the second time that day with wins on all three courts. Lemire set the tone in singles with a quick straight‑set victory, followed by efficient wins from seniors Dlimi and Colin. Oliveira added another strong performance to seal the 5‑2 team win.