Bushamuka, Matsumura Set for NCAA Singles Tournament
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ATHENS, Ga. – Kentucky men’s tennis junior Will Bushamuka and sophomore Ryo Matsumura will represent the Wildcats in the NCAA Singles Tournament on May 24-29 at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Georgia.
Bushamuka, originally an at-large bid, is now a seeded competitor. Matsumura enters the tournament as an at-large bid. The tournament is formatted with competitors playing once daily.
In the tournament’s first round, Bushamuka will face Tuki Jacobs from South Alabama at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow. On the opposite side of the bracket, Matsumura will face Korey Lovett of Central Florida, also tomorrow.. Kentucky did not face USA or UCF during the dual season.
Bushamuka enters the tournament coming off a season which earned him first team All-SEC and the ITA Ohio Valley Region Player to Watch for the second-straight year. The Princeton, N.J. native was 14-7 this season, with team-best eight wins over nationally ranked opponents. Bushamuka, including the fall, has faced 16 opponents in this season’s tournament, coming in at 7-5 with four unfinished matches. He is 4-2 against players that are also seeded.
Tuki Jacobs, Bushamuka’s opponent, is currently ranked No. 77 in the nation and has five ranked victories this season. Jacobs is 11-3 on the No. 1 court, helping him earn the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year award.
The winner of the Bushamuka/Jacobs match will face Gustav Hannsson of Mississippi or Spencer Papa of Oklahoma on May 25.
Matsumura heads in to the postseason tournament after a season that landed him on the All-SEC second team for the second-straight season. He was ranked as high as No. 21 this year and is currently ranked No. 69 in the nation. Matsumura, including the fall, has three wins over the 2017 Tournament field.
Korey Lovett, Matsumura’s opponent, spent most of his time as the No. 1 singles player for Central Florida and amassed a 15-8 record. He began the season with a six-match winning streak and has recorded victories over multiple ranked opponents and made the American Athletic Conference’s All-Conference team.
The winner of the Matsumura/Lovett match will take on the winner of No. 1 seed Mikael Torpegaard of Ohio State or Thomas Laurent of Oregon on May 25.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
