TULSA, Okla. ? The University of Kentucky men?s tennis doubles duo of junior Bruno Agostinelli and freshman Brad Cox fell in their first round match of the NCAA Doubles Championships Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla. Ohio State?s Steven Moneke and Bryan Koniecko defeated the Cats 6-3, 7-5.

Ohio State used an early service break to go up 4-2 on UK in the first set. Each pair held serve over the next two games but the Buckeyes broke the Cats in the ninth game to take the first set 6-3.

In an exciting back-and-forth second set, the teams ended out knotted at 5-all after 10 games. The Buckeyes held serve in game 11 to put pressure on the Cats to serve for a tiebreaker. UK could not regain the lead in game 12 after Ohio State took the early advantage and the Buckeyes broke the Wildcat serve to win the match 7-5 in the second set.

No. 22 Agostinelli and Cox finish the season with a16-12 overall record including an 8-4 ledger against the SEC in their first year playing together.

Cox is just the second freshman in UK history to earn an NCAA individual championship bid. Moreover, he is the first Wildcat rookie to participate in the NCAA Doubles Championships. Former Kentucky All-American Jesse Witten advanced to the Singles Championships in his first year.

With the win, the Buckeye tandem improves to 33-4 this season. Appearing in their first Doubles Championships, Moneke and Koniecko are ranked 10th nationally and will advance to the round of 16 against either Wake Forest or Texas Tech.

The 2008 NCAA Championships will conclude over this weekend at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.

Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for post-season men?s tennis updates.