No. 12 Men's Tennis Earns Bid to ITA National Indoors Following Win Over No. 17 Oklahoma

BERKELEY, Calif. – The No. 12 men’s tennis team punched its ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships after a dramatic 4-3 comeback win over No. 17 Oklahoma on Saturday at the Hellman Tennis Complex.

For the first time this season, the Knights dropped the doubles point heading into singles play. The tandem of Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin were first off court three, falling 6–3. Minutes later, the duo of Luca Hotze and Nicolas Oliveira secured their first doubles win of the weekend, 6-4.

All eyes shifted to the powerhouse pairing of Wissam Abderrahman and Mehdi Benchakroun, who once again clawed back from a deficit to force a tiebreak. The Knights battled through every extra point before ultimately dropping the match and the doubles point, 7-6 (7-4).

 

Singles play opened with Abderrahman falling in a tightly contested match against No. 46 Luis Alvarez, 6-4, 6-2. On court three, Benchakroun dropped his match moments later, 6-1, 6-4.

With the Knights trailing, the veteran‑freshman combination of Dlimi and Pedro Rodrigues delivered on courts one and four. On the front court, Dlimi defeated No. 58 Oscar Lacides, 7-5, 6-4. Rodrigues followed with a commanding performance of his own, winning 6-4, 6-2.

Attention then snapped to the final two courts, where Colin and Clement Lemire carried the Knights’ hopes.

Colin, after dropping his first set 6-2, surged back with renewed confidence, taking the next two sets 6-3, 7-5.

With a ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships hanging in the balance for the second straight year, fate rested on the shoulders of newcomer Lemire in a decisive third set against Oklahoma’s Alejandro Melero. After claiming the first set 6-4 and suffering a heartbreaking tiebreak loss in the second, Lemire rose to the moment. With his teammates lined up on the court beside him and the crowd watching from above, he delivered the final blow, closing out the third set 6-4 and sealing the Knights’ ticket to the national stage.

Can’t miss the clinch by Clement 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/N7hgy0f4HB

— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) January 25, 2026

UP NEXT

The Knights return home to the courts at USTA National Campus to take on in-state foe Florida on February 1 at noon.

Singles Results

1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. No. 57 Oscar Lacides (Oklahoma): 7-5, 6-4
2. No. 46 Luis Alvarez (Oklahoma) def. No. 59 Wissam Abderrahman (UCF): 6-4, 6-2
3. Johan Rodriguez (Oklahoma) def. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF): 6-1, 6-4
4. Pedro Rodrigues (UCF) def. Orel Kimhi (Oklahoma): 6-4, 6-2
5. Paul Colin (UCF) def. No. 74 Asahi Harazaki (Oklahoma): 2-6, 6-3, 7-5
6. Clement Lemire (UCF) def. Alejandro Melero (Oklahoma): 6-4, 5-7, 6-4

Doubles Results

1. Bruno Nhavene/Oscar Lacides (Oklahoma) def. Paul Colin/Yassine Dlimi (UCF): 6-3
2. Orel Kimhi/Johan Rodriguez (Oklahoma) def. Wissam Abderrahman/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF): 7(7)-6(4)
3. Luca Hotze/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Luis Alvarez/Alejandro Melero (Oklahoma): 6-4