ORLANDO – The UCF men’s tennis program announced the addition of Kareem Allaf as an assistant coach ahead of the 2023-2024 season.
Allaf played five seasons at the University of Iowa from 2016-21 and owns the program record in singles and doubles victories with 164 combined triumphs. Additionally, Allaf represented the Syrian National Team at the Davis Cup, and he will reunite with his former coach in Orlando following a one-year stint as a volunteer assistant at Mississippi State.
The partnership of Allaf and Bruce-Burgess produced another historic campaign in 2026. UCF boasted a perfect non-conference record, tallying 13 wins from 13, highlighted by triumphs over No. 18 Florida and No. 18 Clemson at the USTA National Campus.
A year removed from qualifying to the program's first ITA Indoor Championship after toppling No. 6 Arizona during ITA Kickoff Weekend, the Knights ventured to the west coast once more and booked their ticket once again, defeating No. 21 USC and No. 17 Oklahoma in Berkley, California. Moreover, the Knights were a perfect 6-0 against in-state opponents before adding a seventh against Florida during the NCAA tournament.
Following the ITA Indoor Championships, the Knights secured a program-high ITA ranking, soaring to eighth on February 19, while never falling below 15th throughout the season. In their third season competing in the Big 12, the Black and Gold went 5-3 and advanced to the Big 12 Championship semifinals at the USTA National Campus.
Following the regular season, UCF was named host for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive season. The Knights first disposed of South Carolina State before mounting an incredible comeback down 3-0 to No. 19 Florida to eliminate the Gators for the third-straight season and book the program's second-ever and second-consecutive place in the Sweet Sixteen.
Throughout the season, the Knights never dropped a match against a team outside of the final top-10, all while making Orlando one of the most difficult places to play with a perfect 14-0 record at home.
2025-26 Season Notables
- Advanced to the NCAA Round of 16 for both the second-straight season and the second time in program history
- Eliminated Florida from the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year while hosting the first and second rounds for the third time ever
- Achieved a program-high ITA Ranking of No. 8 and never fell outside of the top-15 throughout the season
- Qualified to the ITA Indoor Championships for both the second-straight season and the second time in program history, defeating No. 17 Oklahoma and No. 21 USC
- Tallied a perfect 14-0 record at the USTA National Campus and went 7-0 against in-state opponents, all while having zero defeats to teams that finished outside of the final ITA top-10
Allaf and company produced a historic 2025 season under his former coach Bruce-Burgess, reaching the NCAA Sweet 16 for the first time, along with a DI program-best 23 wins. The Knights, picked sixth in the Big 12 preseason poll, placed fourth during the regular season before defeating title-holders No. 2 TCU in the tournament semifinals.
A campaign of historic moments saw UCF claim its first ITA Kickoff Weekend crown to advance to the ITA Indoor Championships, where the Knights took down the reigning champions No. 4 Ohio State in the round of 16. The Knights hosted an NCAA regional for the second time after being tabbed the nation’s 15th-seed. After taking down Miami in the first round, UCF eliminated Florida for the second consecutive year to secure a spot in the Super Regionals.
Climbing as high as 11th in the ITA rankings, a final placement of No. 16 was the highest among southeast region teams and second-best in the program’s history. Allaf continued his development of a talented squad, placing Mehdi Benchakroun and Yassine Dlimi on the All-Big 12 Singles First Team.
2024-25 Season Notables
- Produced a 23-9 record, most wins in the DI era (since 1984)
- Advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 for first time in program history
- Hosted an NCAA Regional for the second time, defeating Florida in the program’s first second-round victory
- Claimed four top-10 wins in the span of 22 matches, the first of the kind in program history
- Defeated reigning champions No. 4 Ohio State in the round of 16 at the ITA Indoor Championship
- Claimed the program’s first ITA Kickoff Weekend title with a win at No. 6 Arizona
- Defeated No. 2 TCU in the Big 12 semifinals after being picked to place sixth in the preseason poll
- Secured second-highest final team ranking in program history (No. 16), the best of southeast region teams
- Climbed as high as No. 11 in the ITA team rankings (third-best placement in program history)
During his debut season working under Bruce-Burgess, Allaf aided the Knights in a historic inaugural campaign in the Big 12. Alongside his former coach at Iowa, the tandem navigated UCF to a 7-0 start, the first in program history, before eventually attaining a 14-1 non-conference record, another school record. After being picked to finish tied for sixth in the coach's preseason poll, the Knights went 4-3 to place fourth, including wins over Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and BYU.
The Knights would go on to defeat No. 23 Florida in the first round of the NCAA tournament, securing the program its first over the Gators and second-ever qualification to the second round. UCF was tabbed No. 24 in the ITA Rankings during the regular season, its highest position since 2021. The Knights would eventually finish the season ranked 28th (second-highest in program history) in the nation and third in the southeast region.
2023-24 Season Notables
- Ninth-best record in program history (19-6), the second-best percentage of any first-year coaching staff.
- Best seven-match start (7-0) and non-conference record (14-1).
- Defeated Florida in the NCAA tournament first round, its second NCAA tournament win in program history and first over Florida.
- Second-best performance in the NCAA Tournament from any program in Florida/Georgia.
- Advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the seventh time in program history.
- Lleyton Cronje/Santiago Giamichelle crowned ITA Southeast Regional Doubles Champions.
- 2024 recruiting class tabbed third in the nation (highest in the Big 12 and in program history).
- Placed five players on the ITA Singles/Doubles rankings.
Prior to Allaf’s announcement, the Iowa graduate had been playing on the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour, most recently at the M15 Champaign alongside A.J. Catanzariti. Allaf holds a career-high ATP doubles rank of 704, attained this August following a run to the semifinals at the M25 Southaven. In July, Allaf advanced to the doubles finals at the M25 Edwardsville following a quarterfinal victory over former Knight Trey Hilderbrand and Noah Schachter. In singles, Allaf rose to as high as No. 751 in May of this year.
Allaf and Bruce-Burgess spent time together with the Hawkeyes from 2020-21. At Iowa, Allaf consistently grew into one of the nation’s top players, earning three All-Big Ten honors, with his second consecutive first-team selection garnered while Bruce-Burgess was serving as an assistant coach. His 2021 dual-match season engraved Allaf into the record books, as the Syrian native recorded 10 singles wins on court one including three triumphs over ranked opponents. A remarkable 95 career singles and 69 career doubles wins, which rank second and third in school history in each category, respectively.
During his collegiate career, Allaf tallied 12 career singles victories over ranked opponents. His 22 doubles victories as a sophomore in 2018 remain third on Iowa’s single-season wins list, while 23 singles victories during his freshman campaign in 2017 tie for the 11th most in a single season in the program's history.
In 2018, Allaf became the third player in program history to win the ITA Central Regional Singles Championship following victories over No. 39 and No. 45 ranked opposition. A year later, Allaf won four straight singles matches at the ITA Central Regionals to qualify for the national event, going on to defeat two nationally-ranked opponents to qualify for the ITA Main Draw, becoming just the second Hawkeye to accomplish the feat.
During the 2019 Davis Cup, Allaf led the Syrian National Team through a strong group stage performance. With victories on court two over opponents from Qatar, Malaysia and Iran, Allaf was vital in one of the most successful competitions in the nation's history.
Allaf graduated from the University of Iowa with a degree in Enterprise Leadership and a minor in communications before securing his masters in sports and recreational management.
Collegiate Journey:
2016-21: Iowa (Player)
2022-23: Mississippi State (Volunteer Assistant)
2023-Present: UCF (Assistant Coach)