Feb. 21, 2011
in singles to defeat host institution and 29th-ranked Washington 4-2, concluding its play in the Intercollegiate Tennis Associations’ National Men’s Team Indoor Championships at the Nordstorm Tennis Center in Seattle. The match began at 10 p.m. ET Sunday night and concluded at 2 a.m. ET Monday.
“Another good win for us,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “Washington played No. 1 Virginia well in the first round and then upset a top-10 team in Texas A&M last night. They are a tough team and it is a hard venue to get a win at because they have a very large and vocal crowd.”
The victory over No. 29 Washington was the sixth win this season for the Wildcats over a top-50 ranked team. Kentucky has faced nine top-50 opponents this season, holding a 6-3 mark in those matches with wins over No. 14 Texas Tech, then-No. 22 Wake Forest, No. 29 Washington, then-No. 38 Miami (Fla.), then-No. 42 Boise State and then-No. 46 Indiana.
Kentucky (10-3) performed well in singles play, including getting wins from juniors No. 3 Eric Quigley and No. 70 Alex Musialek over ranked foes. Musialek started the singles scoring by taking down No. 42 Kyle McMorrow in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, while Quigley soon followed by defeating No. 66 Jeevan Neduchezhiyan in straight sets 7-5, 6-1.
“Very happy with our play in singles tonight,” Emery said. “Eric Quigley turned in a very workman-like performance as did Alex Musialek. It is very difficult to come on the road indoors and beat quality players at No. 1 and No. 2 singles but that is what they did tonight. They just played rock solid, getting on top early and kept the pressure on.”
Senior Alberto Gonzalez and sophomore Anthony Rossi also posted singles wins for the Wildcats. Gonzaelz took down Daniel Schmidt in a gutsy three-set thriller 1-6, 6-1, 7-5. Schmidt started the match by jumping all over the UK senior to take the first set 6-1, but Gonzalez would return the favor in the second set, posting a 6-1 win for himself. The native of Bradenton, Fla., claimed the match by winning four consecutive games in the third set.
“I can’t say enough about Alberto Gonzalez picking up his level of play in the third set to win four straight games to get us a big point,” Emery said. “That was a huge part of our victory tonight.”
No. 79 Rossi was the clinching point for the Wildcats when he scored a 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 win over Tobi Obenaus at No. 5 singles. The native of France has been impressive for UK this season with a 6-2 dual-match record. Senior Brad Cox was leading his match at No. 3 singles when play was abandoned due to UK clinching the match.
“I was also impressed with Anthony Rossi’s performance tonight,” Emery said. “After losing the second set he played more aggressive in the third even though he was battling cramps. That shows a great level of maturity and mental toughness that he was able to fight through and finish the deal.”
UK dropped the doubles point to start the match when Washington got wins at courts one and three. Washington’s 24th-ranked doubles tandem of McMorrow and Nedunchezhiyan started doubles by defeating Quigley and Cox 8-6, before Marton Bots and Schmidt took down Musialek and freshman Alejandro Gomez 8-6 at No. 3 to clinch the doubles point. Kentucky’s Tom Jomby and Gonzalez led at No. 2 doubles 6-5 over No. 67 Martin Kildahl and Obenaus.
The 2011 ITA National Men’s Team Indoor Championship, the signature indoor team tournament of the college tennis season, features 16 of the top men’s programs in the nation. The University of Washington has served as the host of the 37th-running of the event.
Kentucky lost in the opening round of the event to fifth-seeded Texas 4-2 Friday night, moving the Wildcats into the consolation bracket where they took down Texas Tech 4-1 Saturday.
UK received one of 15 qualifying spot in the prestigious tournament after claiming its second-consecutive ITA Kick-off Weekend regional qualifier. In the qualifier, the Wildcats took down then-No. 42 Boise State in the opening round 4-1 before dominating then-No. 22 Wake Forest 4-0 on Jan. 30.
The Wildcats will now have over a week off before returning to action against Murray State on Tuesday, March 1 at 11 a.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. Admission to the match is free.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team visit UKathletics.com.
No. 13 Kentucky 4, No. 29 Washington 2
ITA National Team Indoor Championships
Feb. 20, 2011 – Nordstorm Tennis Center
Singles
#1 – No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. No. 66 Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW) 7-5, 6-1
#2 – No. 70 Alex Musialek (UK) def. No. 42 Kyle McMorrow (UW) 6-2, 6-4
#3 – Brad Cox (UK) No. 125 Martin Kildahl (UW) 6-7 (9), 6-4, 4-3 DNF
#4 – Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Daniel Schmidt (UW) 1-6 6-1, 7-5
#5 – No. 79 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Tobi Obenaus (UW) 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
#6 – Marton Bots (UW) def. Tom Jomby (UK) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
#1 – No. 24 Kyle McMorrow/Jeevan Nedunchezhiyan (UW) def. Eric Quigley/Brad Cox (UK) 8-6
#2 – Tom Jomby/Alberto Gonzalez (UK) led No. 67 Martin Kildahl/Tobi Obenaus (UW) 6-5
#3 – Marton Bots/Daniel Schmidt (UW) def. Alex Musialek/Alejandro Gomez (UK) 8-6
Order of Finish:
Singles: 2, 1, 6, 4, 5*
Doubles: 3, 1*
