No. 10 Men's Tennis Welcomes FAU for Midweek Match

ORLANDO – Just a few days removed from their last competition at the USTA National Campus, the No. 10 men’s tennis team returns home for a midweek contest against the Florida Atlantic Owls on Thursday at noon.

The Knights are looking to extend their home win streak to a perfect 8-0 with their first midweek afternoon match at home.

LAST TIME OUT

The Black and Gold collected two wins last weekend against both No. 28 Clemson and UNCW.

UCF opened the weekend victorious on Friday night as they took down the Tigers, 4-1. After dropping the doubles point, the Knights rallied back to win four straight singles wins with Clement Lemire on six, Pedro Rodrigues on five and Yassine Dlimi on one before Nicolas Oliveira ultimately clinched the match, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1.

Their winning ways continued Sunday evening as the Knights secured the doubles point thanks to the tandems of Clement Lemire and Nicolas Oliveira as well as Mehdi Benchakroun and Wissam Abderrahman. UCF continued to stay hot, clinching singles wins on all but one court on the day.

QUICK HITS

• ANOTHER WEEK IN THE TOP 10: The Knights continue to showcase remarkable consistency, securing the No. 10 spot in this week’s ITA rankings and extending their streak to four straight appearances inside the top 10. The Knights have appeared in every poll this season, firmly establishing themselves among the nation’s elite. The Big 12 remains well‑represented alongside them, with TCU at No. 6, Baylor at No. 8, and several other conference programs including Arizona State, Oklahoma State, Arizona, BYU, and Texas Tech also earning ranked positions.
• SOPHOMORE SINGLES EXCELLENCE: Sophomores Nicolas Oliveira and Clement Lemire have both proved to be a force in singles play this season. Oliveira currently holds a perfect 8-0 record on the season while leading the team in clinches at four. Lemire has only dropped one singles match all season, holding a mark of 6-1. The Knight has one clinch to his name, the one being against Oklahoma at ITA Kickoff Weekend to send UCF to ITA National Indoors.
• KINGS OF FLORIDA: The Knights ended the 2025 season as the state’s highest‑ranked team and hold that spot again in 2026, extending their rise across the entire southeast as the region’s top program. Their surge has also flipped a once‑lopsided rivalry. After decades of frustration and an 0-22 all‑time mark against Florida, UCF finally broke through in 2024 and proved it was no fluke, now holding a three-match win streak over the Gators. As they turn their attention to the Owls from Boca Raton, Fla., the Knights look to go 6-0 over their Florida opponents this season. Following Florida Atlantic, the Black and Gold only have one in-state opponent left in this year’s campaign with a rematch against the USF Bulls on March 4 in Tampa.

ABOUT THE OWLS

The Owls are led by head coach Ricardo Gonzalez, entering his 13th year overall with FAU and fifth year at the helm. The Owls are coming off a 11-9 overall record and a 7-5 mark in the AAC culminating with a ranking of No.58 in the final ITA poll during their 2024-25 campaign. This season, the Owls currently stand at a 4-2 overall record, winning every home match. The team has a prominent international roster with a lot of young athletes this season. The Owls have faced off the Knights a total of four times, dropping each match.

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.