No. 9 Men's Tennis Welcomes Florida for Indoor Clash

ORLANDO – Following an impressive showing out west resulting in a bid to ITA Indoors for the second year in a row, the Knights return home to take on in-state foes, the Florida Gators.

Due to expected cold temperatures, the match originally set to begin at Noon, will now start with first serve scheduled for 10 a.m. now in the indoor courts at the USTA National Campus. 

LAST TIME OUT

The Black and Gold delivered a dominating performance in Berkeley, sweeping No. 21 USC to advance to the ITA Kickoff Weekend championship match. The Knights secured the doubles point in dramatic fashion, with seniors Paul Colin and Yassine Dlimi rallying to win a 7‑6(4) tiebreak. In singles, UCF controlled the match from start to finish. Mehdi Benchakroun set the tone with a straight‑set win, newcomer Clement Lemire earned his first away match victory and Dlimi clinched the sweep with back‑to‑back tiebreak sets on court one. The 4‑0 result marked UCF’s first sweep of a ranked opponent since 2021, building the momentum going into the Oklahoma match.

UCF followed that performance with an even more dramatic result the next day, defeating then No. 17 Oklahoma in a reverse sweep thriller to punch its ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championships. After dropping the doubles point and falling behind 0-3, the Knights stormed back with singles wins from Dlimi, Pedro Rodrigues and Colin, who battled from a set down. The match came down to freshman Clement Lemire, who delivered under pressure, taking the third set 6‑4 to seal the victory and send UCF to the national stage for the second straight year.

QUICK HITS

• PROGRAM BEST IN THE RANKS: The Knights surged three spots to No. 9 in the latest ITA rankings, matching the highest mark in program history and achieving the top ranking of the Bruce-Burgess era. The Knights’ return to the top 10 is their first since 2021, when they also reached No. 9 during on April 7 and between April 28-May 9.
• KNIGHT KNIGHT, GATORS: The Knights have faced the Gators many times in their program history. However, most matches came out unsuccessful in years past. Now in its third year with Bruce-Burgess at the helm, UCF has defeated Florida once each season, notably in back-to-back years at the NCAA Tournament.
• PERFECT FOUR: Four Knights in the lineup hold a perfect 4-0 record in singles matches they’ve competing in this season. Yassine Dlimi has a perfect mark, competing in four matches each on the front court. Returners Paul Colin and Nicolas Oliveira also have a perfect streak going among the middle courts. Newcomer Clement Lemire sits at 4-0, two of which coming from his stellar performances at ITA Kickoff Weekend in California.

ABOUT THE GATORS

Florida men’s tennis enters the weekend ranked No. 18 after punching their ticket to the ITA National Indoor Championship. After upsetting both Kentucky and Columbia, the Gators were able to punch their ticket to ITA Indoors after three years. The Gators are coming off a 15-12 overall record and a 8-6 mark in the SEC during their 2025 campaign. Head coach Adam Steinberg enters his third season leading Florida. The Gators have faced off against the Knights a total of 22 times with the Black and Gold winning in each of the last two match ups.

ABOUT UCF ATHLETICS
UCF is a proud member of the Big 12 Conference. Our mission is to positively transform the lives of our students academically, athletically, and personally through a nationally competitive intercollegiate athletics program that enhances the reputation and visibility of the University. We strive to be Florida's preeminent athletic program, representing UCF and our community with distinction on the national stage as "Orlando's Hometown Team". To learn more about UCF and Athletics, please visit our websites at www.ucf.edu and www.ucfknights.com.