Coming off a down-to-the-wire loss on Friday against Florida State (6-3) and with revenge on their mind after last season’s second-round exit in the NCAA Division I Men’s Tennis Championship at the hands of No. 15 Central Florida, the Gators looked to get even.
With the cold weather forcing the match inside, the only other factor was UCF (7-0) icing the game. As the match went the distance, his team couldn’t follow, and Florida (3-2) tumbled 4-2.
This loss marks UF’s third loss all-time against the Knights, pushing the Gators to 20-3 with an undefeated record of 16-0 at home and 4-1 on the road.
Nine months after their NCAA tournament game, the in-state rivals faced off again, with UCF ranked ninth this time. The fight was difficult, but glimmers of hope arose as senior Lorenzo Claverie dispatched UCF's senior Mehdi Benchakroun with ease. He set the tone early for the rest of his team to match.
The Gators brought some lineup changes at the start of the match, which played well, but not enough.
Junior Kevin Edengren returned to the lineup for the first time since day one of ITA Kickoff Weekend and started hot. Paired up with freshman Andreas Timini, they cruised through the first doubles match, winning 6-4.
Senior Pablo Perez Ramos and junior Adhithya Ganesan fell 6-4. This marked their first doubles loss of the season; they are now 4-1-1 (unfinished).
It was now up to the senior-junior pair of Lorenzo Claverie and Henry Jefferson to secure the doubles point. As they regained ground, they almost slipped away with the victory, but the Knights won the match 7-6 on a long multi-game competition.
Even though this loss marked a third straight doubles match defeat, the Gators tried to stay close behind. They kept pressure on the Knights throughout the singles portion, but the dominant opponent play was too much to handle.
Half of the singles matches went to game-deciding third sets.
Claverie made quick work, winning 6-3 and 6-2, while Ramos followed suit with a 6-1, 2-6, and 6-2 victory. For the only two wins of the day. But it went downhill for Florida from there.
After the nail-biting defeat on Friday, Timini was focused on redemption. He was determined to get back on track, but could not finish, resulting in a 7-6, 3-6 and 4-6 loss in singles.
Edengren’s momentum slowly faded as he lost 7-5 and 6-2 in singles. He remains winless in singles this season.
Jefferson efficiently beat No. 59 Mehdi Benchakroun in their first singles set 6-2, but then subsequently fell 2-6 and 7-6.
Meanwhile, Adhithya Ganesan went winless, falling 6-2 and 6-4.
Florida looks to break its losing streak with its in-state rival double header at 11 a.m against FGCU (1-5) and UNF (3-3) at 4 p.m on Saturday, Feb. 7, at the Alfred A. Ring Tennis Complex.
Contact Ethan Feinberg at efeinberg@alligator.org. Follow him on X @thefeinline.
Ethan Feinberg is a senior sports journalism student and the Spring 2026 men’s tennis reporter. He has previously written stories and produced audio sessions for WRUF, covering high school football. Ethan enjoys watching and playing sports like football and basketball, working out, fishing, cooking, and having a good laugh with his friends and family. His favorite sports teams are the New England Patriots, Miami Heat, Florida Panthers, and the Miami Marlins. (Drake "Drake Maye" Maye is the GOAT.)
