March 12, 2010
ATHENS, Ga. — The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team won its second consecutive doubles point and got singles wins by sophomores Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek over top-105 ranked players, but could not hold on to the early lead, losing its first Southeastern Conference match of the season 4-3 at No. 6 Georgia on Friday.
Kentucky (11-5, 2-1 SEC) held an early 3-0 lead in the match after winning the doubles point and claiming wins at No. 1 and No. 2 singles. Georgia (11-2, 3-0 SEC) would rally off four unanswered points in singles to end the match and claim the victory.
“We played a great match tonight and put Georgia in a position to lose with match points at courts four and five,” head coach Dennis Emery said. “They (Georgia) just came up with the shots they needed on those four match points. Coach (Cedric) Kauffmann and I are really proud of our team. We fought very hard and have to give Georgia credit. We got better tonight and need to keep progressing as a team.”
Three Wildcats had close matches and chances to claim the UK victory. Freshman Anthony Rossi lost a heartbreaking three-set match to No. 104 Bo Seal. Rossi had a two game lead in the decisive third set, but could not claim the victory over Seal. Junior Alberto Gonzalez also pushed a match to three sets, falling in extra frames in the third set 7-5.
No. 8 Quigley was dynamite at the No. 1 singles position for Kentucky, gathering a win over a top-30 ranked player in No. 29 Javier Garrapiz. The sophomore jumped out early on Garrapiz, winning the first set 6-3. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., kept the pressure on the Bulldog by jumping on top 2-0 in the second set and finishing off Garrapiz for the 6-3, 6-2 victory. The win for Quigley is the fifth victory of the year over a top-60 ranked opponent.
The Wildcats grabbed a 3-0 lead in the match when Musialek won a straight-sets match at No. 2 singles. The native of Dax, France, used a come-from-behind effort in the first set to tie the set at six all, winning the tie breaker 7-4 to claim the first set. The sophomore left no doubt in the second set to claim the match only letting No. 105 Nate Schnugg win one game for the 6-1 victory. The UK sophomore claimed the match 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.
Kentucky won the doubles point for the second straight match after getting wins at the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles positions. The scoring started with No. 15 Eric Quigley and Brad Cox posting an impressive 8-3 victory over Georgia’s Nate Schnugg and Jamie Hunt. The victory for Quigley/Cox marks the second consecutive win for the duo. The tandem has also won three out of their last four doubles matches.
After losing at No. 3 doubles, Kentucky finished off the doubles point with a doubles win by Alex Lambropoulos and Alberto Gonzalez. Lambropoulos/Gonzalez gathered the doubles point by defeating No. 34 Drake Bernstein and Garrapiz 8-4. It is the first win of the season against a ranked team for the UK tandem, who has now won four out of their last five matches and three straight.
UK returns to action on Sunday when it travels to No. 2 Tennessee. The match is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. ET time. Live stats will be available at ukathletics.com.
Tennis Match Results
Mar 12, 2010 at Athens, Ga.
(Dan Magill Tennis Complex)
No. 9 Georgia 4, No. 6 Kentucky 3
Singles competition
1. #8 Eric Quigley (UK) def. #29 Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 6-3, 6-2
2. #37 Alex Musialek (UK) def. #105 Nate Schnugg (UGA) 7-6 (7-4), 6-1
3. Jamie Hunt (UGA) def. Brad Cox (UK) 3-6, 6-2, 6-4
4. #104 Bo Seal (UGA) def. Anthony Rossi (UK) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5
5. Drake Bernstein (UGA) def. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 7-5, 0-6, 7-5
6. Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Graeme Dyce (UK) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. #15 Eric Quigley/Brad Cox (UK) def. Nate Schnugg/Jamie Hunt (UGA) 8-3
2. Alberto Gonzalez/Alex Lambropoulos (UK) def. #34 Drake Bernstein/Javier Garrapiz (UGA) 8-4
3. Bo Seal/Christian Vitulli (UGA) def. Anthony Rossi/Alex Musialek (UK) 8-6
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (1,2,3,4,6,5)
