ORLANDO – The No. 15 UCF men’s tennis team advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 4-0 sweep of South Carolina State on Friday evening at the USTA National Campus.
No. 15 Men's Tennis Sweeps South Carolina State to Advance to Second Round of NCAA Tournament
by Pedro LagoeiroHosting for the second consecutive season, the Knights delivered a dominant performance on their home courts, securing their second NCAA Tournament match sweep in program history (2021), advancing to the second round for the third straight year, marking a program first.
The Knights came out strong, claiming the doubles point in an swift two-court fashion. Nicolas Oliveira and Luca Hotze struck first with a 6-1 victory on court three.
Moments later, Yassine Dlimi’s ace would earn him and Paul Colin a win on court one, clinching UCF the doubles point advantage.
In singles play, the back two courts got things started for the Knights. Oliveira was first to strike, defeating the Bulldogs’ Bastian Zamora 6-2, 6-2 in just under an hour of play on court five.
Minutes later, Clement Lemire gave UCF an authoritative 3-0 lead with an emphatic 6-1, 6-2 victory on court six over South Carolina State’s Vanja Petrov.
On court two, Wissam Abderrhaman held a commanding 7-6, 4-0 lead before Bulldogs’ Novak Novakovic was forced to retire due to injury, giving the Knights the ticket to the second round.
Paul Colin was a match point away from victory on court four, leading 6-3, 5-2, before his match was left unfinished.
On courts one and three, respectively, Yassine Dlimi and Pedro Rodrigues each held one-set advantages before their match was also left unfinished.
The Knights will now face No. 19 Florida in less than 24 hours at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday at the USTA National Campus, with a spot in the Sweet 16 on the line. The matchup marks the second meeting between the two programs this season, with UCF earning a 4-2 victory over the Gators earlier this season on February 1.
Singles Results
- #86 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) vs. Mikalai Bankou (SCST) 6-4, 3-2, unfinished
- Wissam Abderrahman (UCF) def. Novak Novakovic (SCST) 7-6 (7-5), 4-0, retired
- Pedro Rodrigues (UCF) vs. Iliyas Muratuly (SCST) 7-6 (7-1), 2-0, unfinished
- Paul Colin (UCF) vs. Andrii Borodatiuk (SCST) 6-3, 5-2, unfinished
- Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Bastian Zamora (SCST) 6-2, 6-2
- Clement Lemire (UCF) def. Vanja Petrov (SCST) 6-1, 6-2
Doubles Results
- Paul Colin/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Mikalai Bankou/Novak Novakovic (SCST) 6-3
- Wissam Abderrahman/Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) vs. Iliyas Muratuly/Andrii Borodatiuk (SCST) 3-4, unfinished
- Luca Hotze/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Julius Augunas/Bastian Zamora (SCST) 6-1