No. 12 Men's Tennis Set for First Big 12 Road Swing

ORLANDO- Following two home wins last week at the USTA National Campus, the No. 12 men’s tennis team is heading to the Lone Star State to compete it's first conference road trip this season.

The Knights will travel to Fort Worth to face No. 5 TCU on Friday, March 27 before heading to Waco for a rematch against No. 8 Baylor on Sunday, March 29.

 

LAST TIME OUT 

The Black and Gold secured two wins this last week against both BYU and Utah. The Knights took the victory on Thursday evening as they dominated the Cougars, 4-1. After dropping the doubles point, the Knights responded fast, clinching the singles point with four straight wins, highlighted by wins from Paul Colin, Pedro Rodrigues and Yassine Dlimi to take the lead. Mehdi Benchakourn then secured the winning result for the Black and Gold, sealing the match with a 6-4, 6-3 clincher.  

UCF then continued its winning ways Saturday evening with a commanding doubles performance that suffocated the Utes from the start. The Knights secured the doubles point with wins on courts one and three before carrying the momentum into singles play. Wissam Abderrahman and Clement Lemire struck first with victories on court six and two. Senior Yassine Dilimi then sealed the sweep with a 6-2, 6-3 result against Dante Teramo on the front court. 

QUICK HITS

• STELLAR SINGLES STREAKS: The Knights have found consistency in singles play, stringing together impressive winning streaks that have aided in the team’s success. Contributors to this success include senior Paul Colin, who is currently at a 12-2 record and has won seven continuous single matches. The Frenchman has not dropped a single match outdoors this season with the two losses coming from ITA Indoors and this season’s indoor match against Florida. Clement Lemire is close behind with six straight singles wins while competing on court six.
• DOMINATING DOUBLES: The Black and Gold have yet to drop a match when going into singles play with the advantage. Going into this weekend’s competition, UCF holds a 12-0 record when winning the doubles point. Out of the Knights’ 19 matches played so far, the squad has only dropped a total of 6 doubles matches on the season. The tandem of Luca Hotze and Nicolas Oliveira lead the doubles pairs with a 10-5 record on three.
• PROTECTING HOME COURT: UCF has been untouchable on its home courts this season, powering to a flawless 13-0 record at the USTA National Campus. The Knights opened the season with a dominant 10-0 run in non‑conference play, then carried that momentum into Big 12 action to extend the streak even further. Six of the Knights’ victories came in a commanding clean‑sweep fashion, while also securing five wins over in‑state opponents and four triumphs against ranked opponents to strengthen an already standout season.

ABOUT THE HORNED FROGS

No. 5 TCU is coached by David Roditi who is in his 15th season at the helm. Under Roditi, the team has won three Big 12 tournament titles and six Big 12 regular season titles. In 2024, he brought the team to an NCAA Championship title. This season, their roster is led by No. 7 Duncan Chan and No. 25 Cosme Rolland de Ravel. The Knights have faced off against TCU a total of six times with the Knights’ last win coming from the Big 12 Conference semifinals in 2025. The Horned Frogs currently stand at a 13-5 overall record while sitting at a 2-1 in conference play. 

ABOUT THE BEARS

Baylor is led by Head Coach Michael Woodson who is in his 10th season overall in Waco and his fifth season at the helm. The Knights have faced off the Bears a total of five times, with their last match being earlier in the season in the ITA Indoor National Championship, ending UCF’s 8-0 win streak. The Bears are led by multiple ranked individuals including No.14 Devin Badenhorst, who is the most recent recipient of Big 12 Play of the week honors, as well as  No. 26 Connor Van Schalkwyk. Baylor currently stands at No. 8 in the ITA rankings with a 13-7 overall record while sitting at 1-1 conference play. 

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.