WINSTON-SALEM – An incredible season for the No. 15 men’s tennis team came to a close on Friday evening in Winston-Salem as the Knights were bested in a Super Regional bout against top-seeded Wake Forest, 4-1, falling for the second consecutive year to the reigning champions.
Facing off against one of the strongest doubles teams in the nation, the Knights put up a fight despite dropping the advantage. Play on court three quickly finished as rookie duo Clement Lemire and Wissam Abderrahman dropped their match, turning the attention to the front two courts.
On the top court, the senior tandem of Yassine Dlimi and Paul Colin were in a heated duel against the No. 1 doubles pairing in the nation in Andrew Delgado and Dhakshineswar Suresh Ekambaram, with play being halted at 5-4 as the match on court was clinched by the Demon Deacons.
Going into singles play down a point, the Black and Gold couldn’t find their footing, dropping first sets on all courts but the top and bottom. With four of six players actively ranked in the top-125, Nicolas Oliveira was first to be bested by a ranked opponent in Aryan Shah, followed by a loss on two, with Abderrahman falling to 38th-ranked Mees Rottgering.
The bright spot of the day came from senior Dlimi, playing in the last match of his college career in the No. 1 spot, silencing the serves of one of college tennis’ best in No. 27 Suresh Ekambaram, defeating the fellow senior in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4.
Even with the win on the front court, the Knights couldn’t close the deal as freshman Pedro Rodrigues dropped his match on three against No. 28 Lucas Pow, 6-2, 6-3.
As play was completed, Colin was amidst a second-set comeback with a scoreline of 5-7, 4-1, while Lemire was three games away from clinching his match on six, 7-5, 3-1.
Singles Results
- #86 Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. #27 DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) 6-3, 6-4
- #38 Mees Rottgering (WFU) def. Wissam Abderrahman (UCF) 6-4, 6-1
- #28 Luca Pow (WFU) def. Pedro Rodrigues (UCF) 6-2, 6-3
- Charlie Robetson (WFU) vs. Paul Colin (UCF), 7-5, 1-4, unfinished
- #125 Aryan Shah (WFU) def. Nicolas Oliveria (UCF) 6-0, 6-3
- Clement Lemire (UCF) vs. Joaquin Guilleme (WFU) 7-5, 3-1, unfinished
Doubles Results
- #1 Andrew Delgado/DK Suresh Ekambaram (WFU) vs. Paul Colin/Yassine Dlimi (UCF) 5-4, unfinished
- Mees Rottgering/Kacper Szymkowiak (WFU) def. Luca Hotze/Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) 6-2
- Luca Pow/Aryan Shah (WFU) def. Wissam Abderrahman/Clement Lemire (UCF) 6-0