ORLANDO – Following yet another historic season for the UCF men’s tennis team, the Knights finish their spring slate at No. 13 in the final ITA poll of the season.
The final ranking is the second-best final landing in program history, second the a No. 11 ranking to close out the 2021 season.
The Black and Gold are fresh off their second consecutive appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, where they fell to the tournament’s top-seed in Wake Forest. The lone win of the day came from senior Yassine Dlimi, defeating then No. 27 Dk Suresh LAST in straight sets, bringing the captain up the ranks to No. 66 in the nation.
Capping off the season, the Knights are fully represented on all ranking categories to close out the year, with the junior/senior tandem of Mehdi Benchakroun and Wissam Abderrahman appearing in the polls at No. 83. This marks the first time all season that the duo has landed in the rankings. The pair, playing a majority of the season on court two, boast a 11-7 record to end the year.
The Knights sit atop the Big 12 in the rankings, following TCU (4), Arizona (7) and Baylor (10), while topping Arizona State (32), Oklahoma State (46) and Texas Tech (73).
With the final rankings set, the Knights finish the season without dropping out of the top 15 throughout the entire spring slate. The squad reached a peak of No. 8 on February 19, marking the highest ranking in program history.