WACO, Texas – The No. 12 men’s tennis team showed plenty of fight in its rematch with No. 8 Baylor, but the Knights couldn’t complete the comeback in a 4-2 road defeat on Sunday afternoon at the Hurd Tennis Center.
The loss marks the first time since early March 2025 that UCF has dropped consecutive matches. With today’s result, the Knights still stand at an impressive 17-4 overall, with every setback this season coming from matches played in the Lone Star State.
The Knights surrendered the doubles point after dropping the matches on courts one and three, but quickly flipped the momentum once singles began, earning back‑to‑back victories to take an early lead. Baylor answered with two wins of its own, tightening the match and pushing the remaining courts into deciding sets. With two battles left on the courts, the dual remained open until the Bears ultimately secured the final set they needed to close out a hard‑fought 4-2 result.
To open play, the Bears’ No. 69 pairing of Alexandru Chirita and Zsombor Velcz earned a 6-2 victory over Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin, while Devin Badenhorst and Calvin Baierl matched that result on court three against Luca Hotze and Nicolas Oliveira. Court two remained unfinished with UCF leading 4-3.
The singles matches on the afternoon brought an immediate response from the Black and Gold who were looking to bounce back from doubles play. Pedro Rodrigues delivered a commanding performance on court four, overwhelming No. 104 Chirita 6-0, 6-1, while Colin followed with a 6-4, 6-2 win on court five to give UCF its first team lead of the day.
Baylor countered the momentum from the Knights with straight‑set victories on courts six and two, reclaiming the advantage before the remaining matches tightened into three‑set battles. On court one, No. 14 Badenhorst edged No. 71 Dlimi in a hard‑fought 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 decision on a deuce point to clinch the dual for the Bears.
The final match on court three was left unfinished with Mehdi Benchakroun trailing 5-4 in the third.
UP NEXT
The Knights will return home to the USTA National Campus on Thursday, April 2 as UCF celebrates its graduating class in a Senior Knight match against Oklahoma State. First serve is slated to begin at 6 p.m. following the senior ceremony.
Singles Results
Doubles Results