ORLANDO – The No. 15 men’s tennis team is set to embark on its final road swing of the regular season, traveling to the Grand Canyon State to take on No. 10 Arizona and No. 27 Arizona State.
The Knights will close out the regular season before returning to USTA National Campus to host the Big 12 Tournament.
LAST TIME OUT
UCF men’s tennis delivered a dominant Senior Night performance, sweeping No. 39 Oklahoma State 4-0 to remain perfect at home this season. Fueled by the emotion of honoring four seniors, the No. 15 Knights set the tone early by securing the doubles point, highlighted by wins from the pairs of Luca Hotze and Nicolas Oliveira as well as Wissam Abderrahman and Mehdi Benchakroun. The clinch of the advantage came from the latter half who secured the doubles point in a 7-5 victory.
Carrying the momentum into singles play, UCF quickly closed out the match with straight‑set victories from Abderrahman, senior Paul Colin, and top‑court standout Yassine Dlimi. When play was halted, the Knights were still on top, leading on two of the remaining courts. With the win, UCF improved to 14-0 at home, closing out its regular season stint at USTA.
QUICK HITS
PERFECT AT HOME: With the regular season wrapped up at the USTA National Campus, the Knights sealed a perfect record on home courts at 14-0. With an impressive feat accomplished, the Black and Gold also secured an impressive seven sweeps at home, four wins over ranked opponents and four conference victories. The Knights also bested all in-state opponents that made the quick trip over.
SENIOR SHINE: With a victorious Senior Knight in the rearview, all four of this year’s graduates had a hand in the win on Thursday night. Benchakroun and Hotze made their presence known in doubles play, securing wins on courts two and three with their respective partner. As for Colin and Dlimi, the two graduating seniors made their mark in singles play with Colin striking first and Dlimi delivering the clinching point.
BIG 12 TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: The Knights are set to host the Big 12 Tournament beginning on April 16 and running until April 18. The championship will be held on the collegiate courts at the USTA National Campus, marking the first time UCF has served as a host school for a Big 12 competition. The Black and Gold already have proved to be a force in the championships, advancing to last year’s final after an incredible upset in the semifinals against TCU in Baylor.
ABOUT THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats roll into this matchup riding a dominant 13-match winning streak and holding on strong in the ITA rankings at No. 10. Under head Coach Clancy Shields, they’ve swept all six of their conference matches so far and are sitting at an impressive 18-3 overall. Senior Jay Friend continues to prove his standout status with a 12-match win streak and 14-2 record this season, earning him the No. 4 spot in the ITA rankings. Colombian native Alejandro Arcila and Ukranian Glib Sekachova are each sitting at a 11-1 record.
ABOUT THE SUNDEVILS
Arizona State is coached by Matt Hill, who is now in his 10th season at the helm. Arizona State sits at No. 27 in the ITA rankings with an overall 16-8 record. They continue to trend upward after securing a victorious 4-0 win against Oklahoma State this past Sunday, following the Knights dominant defeat of the Cowboys.
