No. 15 Men's Tennis to Face Top-Seeded Wake Forest in Super Regional DuelNo. 15 Men's Tennis to Face Top-Seeded Wake Forest in Super Regional Duel
Tanner Pavlovsky / UCF Athletics

No. 15 Men's Tennis to Face Top-Seeded Wake Forest in Super Regional Duel

by Franki Noble

ORLANDO – Fresh off the heels of a historic comeback against Florida in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, the Knights head to Winston-Salem for a Super Regional against reigning champion Wake Forest.

The Knights are set to face the tournament’s one-seed in the Demon Deacons on Friday in Winston-Salem with first serve set for 5:00 p.m.

LAST TIME OUT

UCF storms into Winston‑Salem carrying the weight of a 4-3 comeback thriller over Florida that will live in program history. After dropping the doubles point and falling behind 3-0, the Knights ignited a comeback sparked by senior Paul Colin, who steadied the team with a 7‑6(6), 6‑3 win over No. 75 Henry Jefferson. Wissam Abderrahman followed with a composed 7‑6(2), 6‑4 victory, and Clement Lemire flipped his match 3‑6, 6‑2, 6‑2 to tie things at 3-3. That set the stage for senior Yassine Dlimi, who erased two match points and outlasted No. 107 Adhithya Ganesan 4‑6, 6‑4, 7‑6(4) in a winner‑take‑all tiebreak to clinch UCF’s second straight NCAA Super Regional berth.

QUICK HITS

  • REGULAR SEASON HIGHS: UCF enters the postseason riding the momentum of a historic regular season slate that included a second straight trip to the ITA Indoor National Championship, a program‑best No. 8 national ranking, and an undefeated home record at the USTA National Campus. The Knights finished 19-5 overall, with every loss coming on the road against ranked opponents, including three top‑10 teams in the states of Texas and Arizona. At home, they were untouchable, posting seven sweeps and showcasing lineup depth that overwhelmed visiting programs. UCF also completed a perfect 6-0 sweep of in‑state foes and closed Big 12 play at 5-3, securing a top‑half conference finish while navigating one of the toughest schedules in college tennis.
  • SWEET 16 BOUND (X2): This season’s berth to the Winston-Salem Super Regional marks the first-time in program history that the Knights have secured a spot in the Sweet 16 in consecutive years. In a sense of déjà vu, the Knights solidified their spot in the next round in a defeat against Florida, the same way they did for their first-ever advantage to the group last season.
  • TRANSFER PERFECTION AT USTA: Transfers Wissam Abderrahman and Clement Lemire have made immediate impacts on this year’s squad with Abderrahman finding his place on court two and Lemire at six. Among rankings and first-ever clinches as a Knight, both have accomplished the heavy feat of going unbeaten on home courts this season. The sophomore Frenchman in Lemire recorded a 11-0 record over the regular and postseason while Abderrahman went 10-0 at home.

ABOUT THE DEMON DEACONS

Tabbed the one-seed and fourth-ranked team in the nation, Wake Forest is led by recently-named ACC Head Coach of the Year Tony Bresky, who has led his team to an impressive 32-3 record this season. The Demon Deacons are coming off a dominating win over Old Dominion to give the squad their third-consecutive, fourth overall, hosting duties in Super Regional play. Wake Forest currently boast’s the nation’s highest amount of home wins at 243, currently holding the country's longest active home winning streak at 48. The Demon Deacons are led by Dhakshineswar Suresh who has solified his spot on the top court, ranked at No. 27 in the nation.