Knight Cap: Men's Tennis Pulls Off Comeback To Reach Sweet 16

Welcome to Knight Cap!

The world of UCF Knights sports extends beyond the gridiron and the basketball court, and Knight Cap exists to keep Knight Nation up to date on some sports that may not get as much attention on their own.

So, without further ado, let's begin:

Men's Tennis Advances To Sweet 16
UCF Women's Tennis' Seasons Ends In Second Round
Rowing Gets A Win Over No. 7 Princeton
Track and Field Preps For Big 12 Outdoors

1. Men's Tennis Advances To Sweet 16

Despite weather delays and going down 3-0, the UCF men's tennis is heading back to the super regional for a second consecutive season after taking down Florida, 4-3, on Saturday night.

After making quick work of South Carolina State in the first round on Friday, 4-0, the Knights 22-6, 5-3 Big 12) have an additional opponent to contend with the next day: Mother Nature. After multiple match-time reschedules to try and account for the weather, the match ultimately moved to the USTA National Campus' indoor facility, something coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess said the Knights "weren't too happy about," and did not get underway until 8:15 p.m.

The Gators took an early lead, taking the doubles point and winning two singles matches in straight sets. However, things began shifting in UCF's favor once senior Paul Colin and junior Wissam Abderrahman won both of their first sets via tiebreakers. Both Knights ended up winning their matches in straight sets, leaving just sophomore Clement Lemire and senior Yassine Dlimi left on the court as they were working their way back from losing their respective first sets.

Lemire bounced back to take his match, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2, which just left Dlimi, the No. 86-ranked player in the nation, in a showdown for the win against Florida's Adhithya Ganesan, the No. 107-ranked player in the nation. After fighting off two match points to make it 5-5 in the third set, Dlimi forced a tiebreaker in which he came out on top, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4).

WON’T FORGET THIS MOMENT. pic.twitter.com/crPLYLX306
— UCF Men's Tennis (@UCF_MTennis) May 3, 2026

"I think this is, this is the pinnacle for us," coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess said. "This is the best, best match I've been a part of, the most important moment. So I think it's, it's amazing."

The Knights now turn their attention to their super regional matchup on the road against 1-seed Wake Forest at 5 p.m. on Friday. A win would take them to their first Elite Eight in program history.

2. UCF Women's Tennis' Seasons Ends In Second Round

Thank you for all your support this season Knight Nation! 🖤💛

Final out of Raleigh
#8 Wolfpack - 4
#20 Knights - 0 pic.twitter.com/6n5OvsFURE
— UCF Women's Tennis (@UCF_WTennis) May 2, 2026

It was once again Deja vu for the UCF women's tennis team, as its season was ended in the second round of the NCAA Tournament by NC State in Raleigh for a second consecutive season.

The Knights did make quick work of Navy in the first round, getting a win, 4-1, in straight sets in singles play. It marked the sixth time in program history that they have advanced to at least the second round, all of which have come during the tenure of coach Bryan Koniecko.

However, the depth of the 8-seeded NC State ended up carrying it to the Sweet 16 with a 4-0 sweep against UCF. After winning the doubles point, the Wolfpack won in straight sets on Courts 4-6 in dominant fashion, with the Knights only winning eight games combined across all three matches. For reference, NC State players needed to win a combined 36 games to take all three matches.

While their NCAA Tournament run ends here, the Knights do still finish their season sporting another share of a Big 12 regular season championship and a 21-5 (11-2 Big 12) record, making it the fifth 20+ win season of the Koniecko era.

3. Rowing Gets A Win Over No. 7 Princeton

“OH WOW.”

First 4+ battles back to secure a HUGE win over No. 7 Princeton and No. 20 Penn 🫨 pic.twitter.com/SDThvvz5NF
— UCF Rowing (@UCF_Rowing) May 2, 2026

The No. 11 UCF Rowing team competed in its final regatta of the regular season on Saturday against No. 7 Princeton and No. 20 Penn.

For three of the four races, the finishing order lined up with each program's ranking. However, with one of the races, the Varsity Four, the Knights upset the Tigers by five seconds. The boat was coxswained by sophomore Vianna Smith and rowed by sophomore Kesha Bruinette, sophomore and Mercyhurst transfer Julia Schultz, senior Sophia Keller and junior Amber Tulloch.

	1st	2nd	3rd
Varsity Eight	Princeton, 6:45.1	UCF, 6:49.1	Penn, 7:01.3
Second Varsity Eight	Princeton, 6:53.3	UCF, 7:07.6	Penn, 7:09.9
Varsity Four	UCF, 7:57.1	Princeton, 8:02.1	Penn, 8:02.8
Second Varsity Four	Princeton, 7:52.7	UCF, 7:58.3	Penn, 8:30.6

The Knights now have 1.5 weeks to prepare for the Big 12 Championship at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota on May 17, where they are set to compete for a second consecutive Big 12 title.

4. Track and Field Preps For Big 12 Outdoors

Another one in the record books 💨

Deja goes No. 9 All-Time at UCF in the 400m! https://t.co/XaaAL1gbD2 pic.twitter.com/yc0olgIag1
— UCF Track & Field/XC (@UCF_Track) May 2, 2026

The UCF Track and Field team got one last chance to compete before the Big 12 Outdoor Championships over the weekend in Jacksonville at the East Coast Relays.

While only one Knight came away from the meet with a podium finish, Madison Patchan taking silver in the 5K with a 17:25.12, eight new personal best marks were set across the team. One of those personal bests was Deja Shaw-Huckaby in the 400m dash. Her 53.69-second time, which earned her a sixth-place finish, was also the ninth-fastest time in the event in program history.

The Knights have to travel out to Tucson, Arizona, for the Big 12 Outdoor Championships, which run from May 14-16.

Catch up on more UCF news below:

UCF Linebacker Denied Extra Year Of Eligibility

The Next UCF Knights Players Who Could Follow Malachi Lawrence to the NFL

Three Returning UCF Knights Players Who Will Define the Season After NFL Losses

Add us as a preferred source on Google