LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The Kentucky men?s tennis team visited top-ranked Virginia Friday evening in Charlottesville, Va. The No. 47 Wildcats pressured the Cavaliers, playing without No. 1 Somdev Devvarman, before relinquishing the match 4-3.

Defending 2007 NCAA singles champion Devvarman of Virginia did not take part in the match because he was playing in a Davis Cup tie for his native India. The shake-up in the line-up did not affect either team?s preparation as play began in doubles.

UK?s No. 3 doubles team of freshman Will Beck and sophomore Alex Lambropoulos faced a tough match-up with Virginia?s No. 17 tandem of Ted Angelinos and Lee Singer. The Cats battled hard against the Cavs but fell 8-6.

The doubles point was settled at the No.1 slot where the No. 21 Wildcat team of junior Bruno Agostinelli and freshman Brad Cox battled Treat Huey and Michael Shabaz in a tight match with a controversial ending.

With UVA serving, Agostinelli and Cox found themselves up 8-7 and 40-30, but a clinching match point was overruled. After the overrule call, the Cavaliers were able to serve out the game and win the tiebreaker 7-1 to clinch the doubles point.

?The point was very controversial,? said UK head coach Dennis Emery. ?But Virginia is No. 1 in the country for a reason. They have great players.?

The Cavaliers jumped out to a quick lead in singles play by taking the first two matches before the Wildcats rallied with two match wins of their own. Ward, playing at No. 2 singles, took out Shabaz in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to earn the Cats first point of the night. Soon after, Beck served against Singer again; winning 7-6(4), 6-4.

?I thought Ward played well tonight. He played with composure and handled a tough crowd tonight,? Emery said. ?As a freshman Beck played well in both singles and doubles tonight in a hostile environment.?

No. 31 Agostinelli battled No. 12 Huey on the singles court and came up with one of his biggest career victories to win UK?s final team point. After losing the first set 6-3, the junior battled back in the second to win 6-4 then take the third-set tiebreak 10-7. The win is Agostinelli?s first over a ranked opponent this season.

?Bruno played a great match tonight, it was definitely the best match he has played this year,? Emery said.

Kentucky drops to 4-3 on the season with the loss while Virginia remains unbeaten at 6-0.

The Cats don?t have time to dwell on the evening because a Saturday tilt with No. 51 Harvard awaits them at 2 p.m. ET. The dual match provides a match-up of two of the longest-tenured coaches at the same university in NCAA history. Crimson head coach Dave Fish is in his 32nd year at Harvard while UK head coach Dennis Emery is leading the Wildcats for the 26th consecutive season. Both are tied for third among active coaches with 18 NCAA tournament berths apiece.

Harvard is 2-0 after starting its season last weekend with victories over No. 45 William and Mary and Purdue at home. The Crimson squad is led by the No. 14 doubles pair of Ashwin Kumar and Sasha Ermakov.

?We always tend to struggle against Harvard,? said Emery. ?They will be well-rested tomorrow. They were able to come out and watch us play tonight, so it will be tough to play back-to-back against two great teams.?

Please visit UKathletics.com for a full recap of the Wildcats? Saturday match.

No. 1 Virginia 4, No. 47 Kentucky 3

Doubles

1. Huey/Shabaz (UVa) def. #21 Agostinelli/Cox (UK) 9-8 (1)
2. Singh/Barrick (UVa) vs. Sundh/Ward (UK) 6-6 dnf
3. #17 Angelinos/Singer (UVa) def. Beck/Lambropoulos (UK) 8-6

Singles

1. #31 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. #12 Treat Huey (UVa) 3-6, 6-4, 10-7
2. Will Ward (UK) def. Michael Shabaz (UVa) 6-4, 6-2
3. Sanam Singh (UVa) def. Marcus Sundh (UK) 6-3, 6-1
4. #83 Houston Barrick (UVa) def. Brad Cox (UK) 7-5, 6-3
5. Ted Angelinos (UVa) def. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 6-2, 6-4
6. Will Beck (UK) def. Lee Singer (UVa) 7-6(4), 6-4

Order of Finish: Doubles-3,1 ? Singles- 3,5,2,6,4,1