LEXINGTON, Ky.? The University of Kentucky?s men?s tennis team opened its 2007 dual meet slate with two victories at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on Sunday. No. 33 Kentucky (2-0, 0-0) took the opening match with UNC-Greensboro, 5-1 while defeating Toledo 6-1.
Kentucky opened the match with Toledo in the nightcap taking the coveted doubles point. At No. 1 doubles, senior Peter Bjork and junior Will Ward opened with a commanding 8-2 win over Mohammed Al Nabhani and Jared Miller. Toledo fired back with a win at No. 2, forcing the point to be decided at the No. 3 spot.
The top two doubles spots concluded play with the teams in a 1-1 tie, when junior Marcus Sundh and sophomore Shane Collins were knotted at 6-6 with Chris Clark and Keith Moran. Both squads stood near the court cheering their teams on. Kentucky?s Collins and Sundh took an edge with a 7-6 lead, but the Rockets tied the score back up at seven. Kentucky then prevailed taking the next two points for the 9-7 win and the doubles point.
Jorge secured his second match of the day with a 6-3, 6-2, decision over Travis Curran for the first singles point of the night. Ward, playing at No. 1 singles, topped Al Nabhani in straight-sets to take the second singles point for UK, 6-4, 6-3, giving UK a 3-0 edge. Bjork earned the winning point at No. 3 singles, pushing the score to 4-0 with a straight-set, 6-2, 6-2, win over Clark.
Sundh secured point number five for the Wildcats with his second win of the day, taking Jared Miller to two sets, 6-1, 7-6 (7-5) at No. 2 singles. Sophomore Kenny Hodge notched the final point for the Wildcats with a comeback victory at No. 5 singles. Hodge dropped his first set 6-3 to Keith Moran, but then rallied back for a 7-5 victory in the second set. He secured the win with a 10-8 grueling third-set.
?I thought we played with good intensity in our match against Toledo,? said Head Coach Dennis Emery. ?We got off to a good start to our season heading into a big match with Middle Tennessee State who is a top-25 team at their place on Wednesday.?
Against the Spartans, the teams opened with singles play. Kentucky got wins from its No. 1-3 singles spots to open the day. Bjork needed only two sets to defeat Taylor Befus 6-2, 6-3.
Sundh earned a dominating two-set victory over Martin Redelinghuys, 6-1, 6-0. Collins appearing in the No. 3 singles spot, handily beat Arsel Kumdereli, 6-2, 6-4. Jorge making his first appearance as a Kentucky Wildcat needed just two sets to down William John, 6-1, 6-4.
Kentucky hits the road for its next match of the season when they travel to Middle Tennessee State on Wednesday for a non-conference match. First serve is slated for 1:30 p.m., in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Kentucky 4, UNC-Greensboro 2
SINGLES:
No. 1 Peter Bjork (UK) def. Taylor Befus (UNCG) 6-2, 6-3
No. 2 Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Martin Redelinghuys (UNCG) 6-1, 6-0
No. 3 Shane Collins (UK) def. Arsel Kumdereli (UNCG) 6-2, 6-4
No. 4 Ian Conchar (UNCG) def. Kyle Virgin (UK) 6-3, 6-3
No. 5 Jorge Jorge (UK) def. Will John (UNCG) 6-1, 6-4
No. 6 Roman Ogarkov (UK) def. Jason Steinhorn (UNCG) 6-2, 6-7 (10-8), 1-0 (10-5)
Order of finish: No. 2, No. 3, No. 4, No. 1, No. 5, No. 6
DOUBLES
Did not play
Kentucky 6, Toledo 1
SINGLES:
No. 1 Will Ward (UK) def. Mohammed Al Nabhani (TOL) 6-4, 6-3
No. 2 Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Jared Miller (TOL) 6-1, 7-6 (7-5)
No. 3 Peter Bjork (UK) def. Chris Clark (TOL) 6-2, 6-2
No. 4 Jorge Jorge (UK) def. Travis Curran (TOL) 6-3, 6-2
No. 5 Kenny Hodge (UK) def. Jared Moran (TOL) 3-6, 7-5, 10-8
No. 6 Keith Moran (TOL) def. Kyle Virgin (UK) 6-4, 6-3
Order of finish: No. 4, No. 1, No. 3, No. 2, No. 6, No. 5
DOUBLES
No. 1 Peter Bjork/Will Ward (UK) def. Jared Miller/Mohammed Al Nabhani (TOL) 8-2
No. 2 Travis Curran/Brian Rager (TOL) def. Kenny Hodge/Jorge Jorge (UK) 8-5
No. 3 Shane Collins/Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Chris Clark/Keith Moran (TOL) 9-7
Order of finish: No. 1, No. 2, No. 3