Owls Drop Road Match, Head to Tampa

Thursday, February 26

Orlando, Fla.

12 p.m.

Florida Atlantic

UCF

2/26/2026 6:44:00 PM | Men's Tennis

Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – Florida Atlantic men's tennis began a four-match road swing with the first stop resulting in a 7-0 loss to No. 10 UCF, played at the U.S. National Campus on Thursday afternoon.

THE BEGINNING
With the doubles courts split at one all, attention turned to court #1 where the duo of Mark Havlicek / Marek Pazdera, ranked No. 82, faced off versus the Knights' top team. With the match tied at 6-6, Havlicek / Pazdera jumped to a 2-1 lead before UCF rattled off six of the next seven points to win the tiebreaker at 7-3, clinch the match, and doubles point for UCF.

THE MIDDLE
The two teams had predetermined that all singles matches would be played out. UCF quickly picked up courts #4 and #3 for a 3-0 lead. The Knights clinched the match with a 6-3, 6-0 win on court #1.

THE FINISH
With three matches remaining, the Owls fell on courts #5, #6, and #2 with each forcing a set tiebreaker and with a one set all on court #6 junior transfer Vanja Hodzic pushed his court into a third set on court #6.

THE RESULT
Doubles
1. Yassine Sine Dlimi / Paul Colin (UCF) def. Mark Havlicek / Marek Pazdera (FAU) 7-6 (7-3)
2. Mehdi Benchakroun / Wissam Abderrahman (UCF) def. Segundo Goity Zapico / Simon Myslivec (FAU) 6-4
3. Lucca C. Pignaton / Vanja Hodzic (FAU) def. Clement Lemire / Nicholas Oliveria (UCF) 6-3
Order of Finish: 3,2,1

Singles
1. Yassine Dlimi (UCF) def. Segundo Goity Zapico (FAU) 6-0, 6-3
2. Mehdi Benchakroun (UCF) def. Mark Havlicek (FAU) 7-6 (7-2), 6-4
3. Paul Colin (UCF) def. Simon Myslivec (FAU) 6-3, 6-1
4. Pedro Rodrigues (UCF) def. Pedro Rodrigues (FAU) 6-0, 6-0
5. Nicolas Oliveira (UCF) def. Jan Kusy (FAU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-3)
6. Clement Lemire (UCF) def. Vanja Hodzic (FAU) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (10-4)
Order of Finish: 4,3,1,5,6,2

UP NEXT
vs. UPenn at USF
FAU will then head to Tampa for a Sunday, March 1, 10 a.m. matchup with Pennsylvania. The neutral site contest will be played on the South Florida campus. The Owls hold the all-time series at 4-1. While the matches have always been close, including last season's 4-3 FAU win, UPenn has not defeated FAU since the first meeting in 2006.

At Tulsa
The team will then make their way to Tulsa, Oklahoma for a non-conference contest against a fellow American Conference member. That match is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET. While the schools are familiar, it will be the first meeting between the two teams. The contest will air on ESPN+.

At Tulane
The four-match stint will conclude on Thursday, March 5 at Tulane versus another American Conference member, but it too will be a non-conference match, which is scheduled for 2 p.m. ET. The Owls tied the all-time series 2-2 a year ago with a 6-1 victory in Boca Raton.

RETURNING HOME
The Owls will return home to the friendly confines of the Kimberly V. Strauss Tennis Center to host Utah State on March 10, Rice on March 13, Old Dominion on March 15, and East Tennessee State on March 18.

THE SCHEDULE
For a complete schedule click HERE.

FOLLOW ALONG
To follow the Owls socially, visit @faumtennis, or for the most up-to-date information, go to www.fausports.com.