No. 15 Men's Tennis Defeats Arizona State in Thrilling Regular Season Finale, 4-3No. 15 Men's Tennis Defeats Arizona State in Thrilling Regular Season Finale, 4-3
Tanner Pavlosky / UCF Athletics

No. 15 Men's Tennis Defeats Arizona State in Thrilling Regular Season Finale, 4-3

by Franki Noble
Opens in a new window Box Score (PDF)

TEMPE, Ariz. – In a battle that stretched over three and a half hours, the No. 15 UCF men’s tennis team refused to back down, rallying to defeat No. 27 Arizona State, 4-3, in its regular-season finale.

 

The Knights opened the day with authority, securing the doubles point behind strong performances on courts one and two. Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin struck first with a 6-4 win, followed shortly by Nicolas Oliveira and Luca Hotze, whose matching 6-4 victory on court two clinched the 1-0 lead for the Black and Gold.

On court three, newly formed duo in Clement Lemire and Wissam Abderrahman were locked in a tight contest at 5-4 when play was halted after the point was secured. UCF closes the regular season with a 15-9 doubles record, never dropping a match after earning the opening point.

Momentum shifted in singles, where the Knights stumbled early. Colin and Oliveira fell quickly on courts four and five, marking Colin’s only outdoor loss of the season.

However, winning ways began to shine through once again Pedro Rodrigues provided a spark, delivering a composed 7-5, 6-3 win. The victory came from the freshman’s first appearance on court three this year.

A three-set loss on court one put UCF behind 3-2, leaving Lemire and Abderrahman as the final hopes. Lemire struck next, mounting a comeback on court six to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and level the match at 3-3.

With the victory hanging in the balance, all attention shifted to Abderrahman on court two. Locked in a tense three-set duel, the Parisian clawed his way through a deuce match point to take the final set 7-5, sealing the Knights’ dramatic 4-3 victory with a 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 triumph.

UCF closes the regular season at 19-5 overall and 5-3 in conference play, with every loss coming on the road. The win marks the Knights’ first conference road victory of the season.

UP NEXT

With the regular season in the rearview, the Knights turn their attention to the Big 12 Tournament hosted on home courts at the USTA National Campus from April 16-18. Seeding information as well as match dates and times to be announced.

Singles Results

  1. Ofek Shimanov (ASU) def. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 6-0, 0-6, 6-4
  2. Wissam Abderrahman (UCF) def. Mathis Bondaz (ASU) 4-6, 6-1, 7-5  
  3. Pedro Rodrigues (UCF) def. Jelani Sarr (ASU) 7-5, 6-3
  4. Shu Matsuoka (ASU) def. Paul Colin (UCF) 6-0, 6-4
  5. Niels Villard (ASU) def. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) 6-4, 6-4
  6. Clement Lemire (UCF) def. Roi Ginat (ASU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2

Doubles Results

  1. Yassine Dlimi/Paul Colin (UCF) def. Jelani Sarr/Roi Ginat (ASU) 6-4
  2. Luca Hotze/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Milos Mikovic/Ofek Shimanov (ASU) 6-4
  3. Niels Villard/Shu Matsuoka (ASU) def. Wissam Abderrahman/Clement Lemire (UCF) 5-4