UCF Men’s Tennis Season Gets Underway with Doubleheader

The UCF men’s tennis team, led by head coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess, is set to kick off their season with a doubleheader on Monday. They will be traveling to Conway, S.C., to face off against UNC Wilmington and Coastal Carolina.

This season marks a fresh start for the UCF men’s tennis program, as they recently joined the Big 12 conference and welcomed Bruce-Burgess as their new head coach. Bruce-Burgess, previously an assistant coach for UCF women’s tennis, brings a wealth of collegiate tennis experience to the team. He has also added former Iowa standout Kareen Allaf as an assistant coach.

The Knights have eight returning players, including Lleyton Cronje, who enters his third season with UCF. Cronje and former Knight Bogdan Pavel had a strong run in the NCAA doubles tournament last year, reaching the second round and rising to No. 26 in the ITA rankings. Cronje has a total of 21 singles wins under his belt during his time at UCF.

Among the returning players, Yassine Dlimi stands out as the reigning American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. He had an impressive 11-5 singles record, including a 10-match unbeaten streak. The team also features a strong contingent of international players, including Mehdi Benchakroun and Paul Colin from Morocco, Liam Branger from France, and Francisco “Toto” Llanes from Spain.

The Knights will also be introducing new talent to the team, such as transfer Santiago Giamichelle from UT Arlington. Giamichelle had an outstanding freshman year and was named the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year. He and Cronje recently won the ITA Southeast Regionals Doubles Championship in Atlanta.

On Monday, the Knights will first face off against UNC Wilmington, a team they haven’t played since 2017. Later in the day, they will take on Coastal Carolina for the first time ever.