KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ? A slow start by the University of Kentucky men?s tennis team gave opponent Virginia Tech an early lead and UK was unable to recover. The No. 30 Hokies defeated the No. 37 Wildcats 4-0 in the first round of the NCAA tournament?s Knoxville regional held at the University of Tennessee?s Outdoor Varsity Courts Saturday.
The Cats took the courts to play doubles for the first time in three weeks in perfect outdoor tennis conditions. The No. 22 team of junior Bruno Agostinelli and freshman Brad Cox rolled in their match against Tech?s Brandon Corace and Pedro Graber at doubles position one. After a 1-all tie, the Cats won five games in a row to go up 6-1 and eventually win 8-3 to give UK an early advantage.
But the Hokies recovered on courts two and three. Tech?s Albert Larregola and Nicolas Delgado won the last four games of its match on court two against junior Shane Collins and freshman Will Beck for an 8-3 victory. At the No. 3 spot, senior Marcus Sundh and sophomore Alex Lambropoulos led early 2-1 but Sebastien Jacques and Yoann Re of Virginia Tech rallied to win the next five games en route to an 8-4 decision and give the Hokies a 1-0 lead.
?I thought Virginia Tech played a very good match,? said UK head coach Dennis Emery. ?They dominated us in doubles and that was the key to the match ? no question. We just played really tight in doubles.?
With the doubles point in hand the Hokies carried their momentum into the singles matches by winning the first set of all six contests. But Kentucky began to turn the match around in the second sets, especially at the top of the line-up.
The Hokies extended their lead to 2-0 on court six. Lambropoulos rallied from 4-1 down in the first set to tie the match, but Corace took the final two games for a 6-4 result. The opponents battled to 3-all in the second before Corace caught fire again to win the next three games for the match win 6-3.
On court five Jacques used the first set?s only break of serve to go up 5-4 before holding to serve out the set against Collins. The foes were on serve in the second at 2-2 before Jacques stepped up his game to win the final four games and extend Tech?s lead to 3-0.
Sundh and Re battled through two close sets on court three. Re went up two breaks early in the first set for a 5-2 lead. Sundh got one break back but Re closed out the first set 6-4. In the second Re used the same formula to yield the same result, getting two early breaks leading to a 6-4 win to clinch the match.
Matches at the top-two singles positions looked promising for Kentucky but were suspended after Virginia Tech earned its fourth match point.
At No. 1 singles, No. 20 Agostinelli lost the first 6-2 after Larregola broke serve twice. In the second set, Agostinelli got his first break in game three for a 2-1 lead. After both held serve for a 3-2 Agostinelli advantage, the Wildcat blazed through the next seven games to win the second stanza 6-2 and lead 4-0 in the third before the match was called.
On court two, Cox and Delgado?s match went much the same way. Delgado used two breaks to win the final five games of the first set to win 6-2. In the second set, it was all Cox. With the second set on serve at 1-all, Cox strung together eight-straight game wins to win the second 6-1 and grab a 3-0 lead in the final stanza before the match was suspended.
In the final suspended match, Graber trailed freshman Alberto Gonzalez 5-6 in the second set after taking the first 6-3.
?Virginia Tech dominated us in the first set but I thought we did a great job to fight back and turn things around? Emery said. ?In the end, they were a little too strong for us. It took us a while to dig in and turn around the match.?
The Cats finish the season with a 12-16 overall record. Meanwhile, the Hokies improve to 16-8 on the season and will face No. 8 Tennessee in the regional final Sunday. The host Volunteers defeated No. 69 Furman earlier in the day to advance.
Agostinelli and Cox?s season will continue at the individual championships held in Tulsa, Okla., in two weeks. Agostinelli will play in the singles championship as well as the doubles bracket paired with Cox. The draws for both tourneys will be announced during Championship Week in Tulsa.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the latest updates from the NCAA singles and doubles championships.
#30 Virginia Tech 4, #37 Kentucky 0
Singles
1. #20 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) led #45 Albert Larregola (VT) 2-6, 6-2, 4-0, susp.
2. Brad Cox (UK) led. Nicolas Delgado (VT) 2-6, 6-1, 3-0, susp.
3. Yoann Re (VT) def. Marcus Sundh (UK) 6-4, 6-4
4. Pedro Graber (VT) led Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 6-3, 5-6, susp.
5. Sebastien Jacques (VT) def. Shane Collins (UK) 6-4, 6-2
6. Brandon Corace (VT) def. Alex Lambropoulos (UK) 6-4, 6-3
Doubles
1. #22 Bruno Agostinelli/Brad Cox (UK) def. Brandon Corace/Pedro Graber (VT) 8-3
2. Nicolas Delgado/Albert Larregola (VT) def. Will Beck/Shane Collins (UK) 8-3
3. Sebastien Jacques/Joann Re (VT) def. Alex Lambropoulos/Marcus Sundh (UK) 8-4
Order of Finish: D1, D2, D3, S6, S5, S3
