No. 9 Men's Tennis Set for Final Non-Conference Road Match Against South Florida

ORLANDO – The No. 10 men’s tennis team is heading west for its first road contest since ITA Indoors to take on the South Florida Bulls on Wednesday, March 4.

The Knights will compete on the USF Varsity Tennis Courts with first serve slated for 5 p.m. The match will mark the first time all season that UCF will face off against a previous opponent.

 

LAST TIME OUT

The Black and Gold secured a dominating 7-0 sweep over the FAU Owls on Thursday afternoon at the USTA National Campus. Following a long doubles battle, the Knights rallied after an early loss on court three, with Wissam Abderrahman and Mehdi Benchakroun evening the score before No. 69 Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin clinched the point in a thrilling 7(7)-6(3) tiebreak.

UCF carried that momentum into singles, where freshman Pedro Rodrigues opened with a flawless 6-0, 6-0 performance, followed by Colin’s strong 6-3, 6-1 win on court three. Dlimi then delivered a commanding 6-0, 6-3 victory to lock in the team result at 4–0. The Knights continued to roll as Nicolas Oliveira earned a 6-3, 7(7)-6(3) win to remain perfect at 9–0 in singles, while Clement Lemire battled through a gritty three-set match to prevail 3-6, 6-3, 1(10)-0(4). Benchakroun sealed the sweep with a hard-fought comeback, taking his match 7(7)-6(2), 6-4 to cap off a dominant afternoon for the Black and Gold.

QUICK HITS

• TOP 10 KNIGHTS: The Black and Gold climbed back to No. 9 in the latest ITA rankings, continuing a season spent consistently between No. 8 and No. 10 and never falling outside the top 15. The Knights now sit near the top of the Big 12, trailing only TCU (7) while leading a deep conference that includes Baylor (10), Arizona (15), Arizona State (17), Oklahoma State (34), BYU (56), and Texas Tech (72), with all but one Big 12 program ranked in the top 75. In singles, UCF features two nationally ranked players in Yassine Dlimi, who made one of the week’s biggest jumps to No. 83, and Wissam Abderrahman, who remains steady at No. 74.
• SINGLES PERFECTION: Sophomore Nicolas Oliveira is sitting at a perfect 9-0 record in singles play on the 2026 dual match season. The Knight has a team-high of four clinches to his name this season, holding the reputation as a clincher for the second year in a row. Oliveira most notably has wins over ranked opponents in UC Santa Barbara and clinches over Clemson and Florida.
• SUNSHINE STATE SUPERIORITY: The Knights compete in 2026 as Florida’s highest‑ranked team for the second straight year, reinforcing the position they earned in 2025, showing real consistency at the top of the state. Their progress has also changed the tone of a rivalry that used to be one‑sided. After going 0-22 all‑time against Florida, UCF finally broke through in 2024 and has followed it with three straight wins, turning a long‑standing hurdle into a matchup they now handle with confidence. A second win over the Bulls would round out the picture, giving UCF victories over every in‑state opponent on their 2026 schedule.

ABOUT THE BULLS

South Florida has competed this season with an experienced group led by No. 114 Hugo Car and No. 122 Elijah Cham, both of whom continue to anchor a lineup built around returning veterans. The Bulls bring back multiple players who contributed to last year’s singles and doubles All‑Conference honors, giving the team a reliable core. The long‑running UCF–USF rivalry adds two chapters this year, with 28 total meetings over 19 seasons and the Knights taking eight of the last five years’ matchups. Earlier this season, the Knights completed a 4-0 sweep of the Bulls on the indoor courts at the USTA National Campus in January. Head Coach Ashley Fisher remains in his tenth season guiding the Bulls.

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.