No. 15 Men's Tennis Slated For Regular-Season Home FinaleNo. 15 Men's Tennis Slated For Regular-Season Home Finale
Jon Rose / UCF Athletics

No. 15 Men's Tennis Slated For Regular-Season Home Finale

Knights Recognize Four Seniors Ahead of Match

by Aiden Kocol
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ORLANDO – No. 15 UCF men’s tennis is set for its home finale on Thursday, April 2, when the Knights host No. 39 Oklahoma State.

First serve is scheduled for 6 PM, with the program’s Senior Day ceremony set to begin at approximately 5:45 PM. UCF will honor four members of the Black and Gold, Luca Hotze, Mehdi Benchakroun, Paul Colin, and Yassine Dlimi, before the match.

LAST TIME OUT
The Knights faced their first major road test of the season with back‑to‑back matchups against top‑ten opponents, No. 5 TCU and No. 8 Baylor.

UCF opened strong in Fort Worth on Friday, delivering a dominant doubles performance to claim the early advantage. But the Horned Frogs quickly swung the momentum in singles, taking four straight courts to secure a 4-1 win.

Two days later in Waco, the Knights encountered similar challenges against Baylor. After dropping the doubles point, UCF responded in singles behind Pedro Rodriguez, who quickly earned a 6-0, 6-1 victory over No. 104 Alexandru Chirita. However, Baylor answered with wins on courts six and two to build a 3-1 lead. Yassine Dlimi briefly halted the surge with a gritty three‑set victory on court one (6-3, 4-6, 6-4), but the Bears ultimately closed out the match, 4-2.

 

QUICK HITS; HONORING OUR SENIORS

  • Luca Hotze: A four-year member of the Black and Gold, Hotze has become an anchor in the Knights’ double lineup this season alongside his partner, Nico Oliveira. The duo has earned an impressive 10-6 dual-match mark with their most recent victory coming on the road against the top-five Horned Frogs. Hotze plans to graduate from UCF with a Bachelor of Science in Interdisplenary Studies. 
  • Paul Colin: Colin has been one of UCF’s most versatile players, competing in every singles and doubles spot during his four-year career. The Saint Barts native has delivered numerous clutch wins, including a victory over TCU’s No. 122 Albert Pedrico during the Knights’ historic upset of the then-No. 2 Horned Frogs in 2025. As a junior, he ended the year on a nine‑match unbeaten streak and posted a 9-4 record at No. 1 doubles, going 4-0 against ranked opponents to reach as high as No. 45 in the ITA rankings. This season, Paul has continued his strong form with a 13-2 singles record and remains undefeated outdoors.
  • Mehdi Benchakroun: Benchakroun joined the Knights in 2023 and quickly made an impact, earning nine singles wins across courts three through five as a freshman. He elevated his game as a sophomore, going 16-4 in singles and securing a pivotal win over Florida to help UCF advance in the NCAA first round. Named a captain in 2025, Benchakroun delivered a breakout junior season with 35 total victories, All‑Big 12 Singles First Team honors, and two Big 12 Player of the Week awards. He reached a career‑high ITA singles ranking of No. 69 and clinched UCF’s first‑ever NCAA Sweet 16 berth with a win over Arizona’s ninth‑ranked Jay Friend. This season, he became just the sixth Knight in program history to surpass 100 combined singles and doubles victories.
  • Yassine Dlimi: Since he arrived in 2023, Dlimi has been a cornerstone of the Black and Gold. The Moroccan native made an immediate impact as a freshman, competing on courts one through three and earning American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year honors. His domination continued as a sophomore, locking down the top of the lineup with a 12‑match unbeaten run that included nine straight wins. During UCF’s historic 2025 season, Dlimi posted a career‑best 17 victories, reached No. 52 in the ITA rankings, and earned All‑Big 12 Singles First Team recognition. His win over TCU’s seventh‑ranked Jack Pinnington Jones helped spark a dramatic 4-3 comeback against the No. 2 Horned Frogs in the Big 12 Tournament semifinals, eventually earning him the title of the 2025 UCF Men’s Athlete of the Year.
  • Team Accomplishment: This senior group joined UCF during a transitional period, ushering in the Bruce-Burgess era. Under the direction of a new head coach, these four members of the Black and Gold have accomplished many feats, including back-to-back qualifying bids to the ITA Indoor National Championships, their first advancement to the NCAA Sweet 16 in program history, recorded a program-high of 23 wins in a single season, and most recently achieved the highest ranking in team history, slotting in at No. 8 in the Feb. 19 ITA Poll.   

"These incredible seniors have meant everything to this program. They believed in what we were building when we took over in 2023, and they’ve been the foundation of it ever since. They’ve seen this program grow from around 60 in the country to the top 10 and they’ve been at the center of that rise through their work ethic, leadership, and commitment to the culture. It’s been incredible to watch them grow, and it’s truly been an honor to coach them. There is no replacing a group like this, they are everything a coach wishes for in a senior class.”

Head Coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess

THE OPPONENT
The 38th‑ranked Cowboys enter Friday’s matchup with a 14‑7 overall record and a 1-3 conference mark, picking up their lone Big 12 win in their conference opener versus Utah on March 12. Oklahoma State is led by freshman Haydar Gokpinar, who holds down court one with a 14-3 dual-match record. The Cowboys have already picked up one top-15 win this season, edging then-No. 14 San Diego, 4-3. Fifth-year head coach Dustin Taylor leads Oklahoma State, he entered the season with a 54-51 record.

History with Oklahoma State
All-Time: 5-4
Home: 3-1
Away: 2-3
Neutral: 0-1
Under Bruce-Burgess: 3-2
Last Match: April 11, 2025 (W, 4-3)