UCF Tennis Teams Vie To Host NCAA Regionals
The UCF Tennis teams are back at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona this weekend as the hosts of the Big 12 Tennis Championships.
Both teams are ranked in the Top 25 of the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's rankings going into these tournaments; however, both are near the bubble for the right to host for the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
So, here is everything you need to know about both teams and what they need to do to earn home-court advantage in the NCAA Tournament:
1. Men
The UCF men's tennis team, led by coach Lloyd Bruce-Burgess, is looking to host the NCAA Tournament at the USTA National Campus for a second straight season.
The Top 16 teams earn the right to host, and the Knights (20-5, 6-3 Big 12) currently sit at No. 14 in the ITA rankings. With their quarterfinal victory over Arizona State, 4-0, on Thursday morning, even a loss in the coming days against the likes of fellow Top 16 teams Arizona, TCU or Baylor is unlikely to hurt their ranking too much. That being said, teams like Stanford, Auburn and Florida bubbling under the Top 16 could make things interesting from a hosting standpoint should they perform well in their conference tournaments.
Nevertheless, the Knights are still seeking their first Big 12 Tournament title since joining the conference, starting with the 2024 dual match season, with this season marking the first time the tournament has been hosted at the USTA National Campus. That home-court advantage could come in handy, as while they fell to the other three remaining teams in the tournament, TCU, Baylor and Arizona, on the road during the regular season, they are 15-0 at home.
UCF is bidding farewell to four seniors after this season, three of whom have been fixtures in their starting lineup for multiple seasons, with this time around being their last opportunity to play postseason college tennis. They include their Court No. 1 player, Yassine Dlimi, who is 1108 in singles play this season and Paul Colin, whose gone 14-3.
The Knights have also been bolstered by a reliable Clement Lemire, a sophomore transfer from Oregon who has gone 12-1 this season, mostly from Court No. 6. They take on No. 9 Arizona in the semifinals on Friday at 2 p.m., and should they make it to the championship, that is going to be at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
2. Women
The UCF women's tennis team, led by coach Bryan Konieckio, is on the outside looking in when it comes to hosting NCAA Tournament matches, entering the tournament ranked No. 20 in the nation. However, the Knights (18-3, 11-2 Big 12) are the No. 1 seed of the tournament thanks to having the tiebreaker over their co-regular season champion, Arizona State.
A matchup in the championship against the No. 11 Sun Devils, who are currently in line to host, looks like the Knights' best bet to climb into hosting contention themselves. They have not hosted an NCAA Tournament match since 2021, which is also the last time they advanced to the Sweet 16.
Despite defending Big 12 All-Freshman Teamer Aya El Aouni's absence all season and injury sidelining senior Northern Arizona transfer Daryna Shoshyna early on, the Knights still managed to finish at the top of the Big 12.
Senior Jantje Tilbuerger, who was out for most of the 2025 season with an injury, went 15-1 in singles play during the dual match season and has grown into the Knights' Court No. 1 player. However, most of UCF's roster is made up of underclassmen, of which sophomore Jade Psonka and freshman Marina Gatell stand out, both going 13-2 in singles play this dual match season.
The Knights take on 9-seed BYU at 6 p.m. on Thursday. Potential semifinal and championship matches for them are also set to start at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
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Bryson Turner is a sports journalist who covers UCF Athletics. Turner has contributed to the Black and Gold Banneret, the home for UCF Athletics on SB Nation. He has called the Orlando area home since the age of 8 and received his bachelor's and master's degrees from UCF.
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