No. 14 Men's Tennis Set to Face Arizona State in First Round of the Big 12 Tournament

ORLANDO – The No. 14 men’s tennis team is primed to begin play at the Big 12 Tournament on Thursday, April 16 at the USTA National Campus with first serve slated for 10 a.m.

Tabbed the four-seed, the Knights are set to compete against regular season finale opponents in the Arizona State Sun Devils who earned the five-seed. The winner of that match will advance to semifinals to face the one-seed in Arizona.

LAST TIME OUT

The Black and Gold closed their regular season in a dramatic 4-3 win over then No. 27 Arizona State in Tempe, grinding through more than three and a half hours of play to secure its first conference road victory of the year. The then-ranked No. 15 Knights started strong by taking the doubles point, thanks to 6-4 wins from Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin on court one and Nicolas Oliveira and Luca Hotze on court two.

Singles play initially swung toward the Sun Devils with the squad picking up three courts. Quick losses by Paul Colin and Nicolas Oliveira on courts four and five put UCF behind, with Colin suffering his only outdoor defeat of the season. Freshman Pedro Rodrigues steadied the Knights with a 7-5, 6-3 win in his first appearance on court three, but a tight three‑set loss by Yassine Dlimi on court one pushed ASU ahead 3-2.

The match was then left in the hands of Clement Lemire and Wissam Abderrahman. Lemire delivered first, rallying from a set down to win 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 on court six to tie the overall score, 3-3. All eyes then turned to Abderrahman, who battled through a tense, momentum‑shifting third set on court two. After surviving a deuce match point, he closed out a gritty 4-6, 6-1, 7-5 victory to clinch the team win and send the Knights to the Big 12 Tournament to face the same opponent.

QUICK HITS

• HISTORY IN THE TOURNEY: The Knights return to the Big 12 tournament following last year’s performance that saw UCF advance to the championship in Waco, Texas. The Black and Gold defeated Utah in the quarterfinals to advance to the semifinals to face then-ranked No. 2 TCU. One win away from the championship, the Knights once again stunned the college tennis world, defeating the Horned Frogs, 4-3. The Black and Gold had quite the challenge ahead of them in the finals, dropping to then No. 11 Arizona, 4-1. The year prior, the Knights fell out of the tournament against host school in Oklahoma State.
• HOME COURT ADVANTAGE: With the regular season officially wrapped at the USTA National Campus, the Knights closed out a flawless 14-0 mark on their home courts. The Black and Gold didn’t just protect their turf, they dominated it, stacking up seven home sweeps, four victories over ranked opponents, four conference wins and a clean sweep of every in‑state foe that made the trip to Orlando. Timing couldn’t be better for a perfect season as home as UCF will serve as the host school for the entirety of the Big 12 Tournament.
• IN THE RANKS: As the Big 12 Tournament approaches, the Knights have risen to No. 14 in the latest ITA rankings, extending its streak to 13 straight weeks inside the top 15 after reaching an all‑time best No. 8 on April 19. Senior Yassine Dlimi continues to represent the Knights individually in the national polls at No. 78, and UCF now prepares to host a conference field featuring five top‑30 teams, including No. 3 TCU, No. 9 Arizona, No. 11 Baylor, and first‑round opponent No. 30 Arizona State, with Utah entering as the lone unranked squad.

ABOUT THE SUN DEVILS

Arizona State men’s tennis, led by 10th‑year head coach Matt Hill, enters the tournament as an internationally built squad currently ranked No. 30 in the ITA standings with a 17–7 record and a split mark of 4-4 in conference play. The Sun Devils boast a deep singles lineup anchored by Ofek Shimanov and Mathis Bondaz at the top, with consistent production from middle‑court players like Shu Matsuoka and Niels Villard. Their doubles teams are competitive across all three courts, often setting an early tone. The Sun Devils ended the regular season one match shy of tying their best win record in program history.

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.