May 4, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s tennis senior Brad Cox and juniors Alex Musialek and Eric Quigley have qualified to compete in the NCAA Singles and Doubles Championships from May 25-30 at the Taube Tennis Center in Stanford, Calif., the NCAA announced Wednesday.
Quigley and Musialek earned two of 48 at-large bids to participate in the singles tournament that will begin after the team finals conclude on May 24. Quigley and Cox will team up as doubles partners after earning one of 19 at-large bids to take part in the doubles tournament.
Quigley and Musialek also participated in the singles championships last season, while the doubles duo of Quigley and Cox will compete in their second consecutive doubles championships. Cox is now the only Wildcat in school history to have played in the doubles championship all four seasons at UK after making the tournament with former UK great Bruno Agostinelli his freshman and sophomore seasons.
Kentucky joins Tennessee (three), Georgia (three), Florida (two) and Ole Miss (two) as the only Southeastern Conference schools with multiple players selected to the singles tournament. Sixteen schools in the country achieved the distinction.
Quigley, listed at No. 6 in the nation according to the latest Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings released Monday, has earned a top-16 seeding in the singles tournament at No. 7. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., owns a 21-7 dual-match record at No. 1 singles this season. Quigley, who earned first team All-SEC honors for the second consecutive year this season, posted an 8-5 record against SEC foes and is 28-11 against players currently ranked in the nation in singles. Quigley has not been ranked outside of the top six all season.
Musialek is listed at No. 53 in the nation with an 18-10 record at No. 2 singles, including a 10-3 mark against the SEC. He has defeated nine top-115 opponents this season and was named second team All-SEC for the second consecutive season.
Quigley and Cox have been ranked in the doubles rankings nearly all season and are listed at No. 19 this week. The tandem has achieved an 18-17 mark this season, including four wins over top-30 ranked tandems in the team’s last seven matches.
Prior to the singles and doubles tournaments, Kentucky will play host to first- and second-round action of the NCAA Team Championships May 13-14 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The Wildcats battle Cleveland State in the first round on May 13 at 3 p.m. EST. The winner plays the Louisville-Cornell winner, May 14 at 3 p.m. EST in the second round. The final 16 teams meet in Stanford, Calif., to crown a champion, May 19-24 at the Taube Tennis Center, hosted by Stanford University.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, visit UKathletics.com or follow “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
