LEXINGTON, Ky. ? On a blistering hot Saturday afternoon, Kentucky seniors Nate Emge and Alex Hume shined leading the No. 30 Cats over the No. 72 Commodores in their final regular-season match at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center. Emge put Kentucky up 3-2 while Hume clinched the match for UK when the contest was tied at 3-3. The victory snapped the Wildcats? three-match losing streak and improved the team?s record to 16-8 (7-4 SEC) on the season.
UK got off to a slow start by dropping two out of three doubles matches to fall behind 1-0. Nick Cromydas and Nathan Sachs recorded Vandy?s first win 8-4 over UK?s freshmen duo of Bruno Agostinelli and Kenny Hodge at the third doubles position. Kentucky?s Hume and sophomore Marcus Sundh tied the doubles matches at 1-1 when they defeated Vandy?s Andy Mack and Evan Dafaux 8-3 at the top spot in the lineup. The ?Dores No. 2 team of Ryan Preston and Jordan Magarik clinched the point with a 8-2 win over UK?s Emge and freshman Shane Collins.
The Cats regrouped in singles competition to take four out of the six contests to gain the win. Sundh, a native of Stockholm, Sweden, recorded the Cats? first victory when he breezed by Cromydas 6-3, 6-0. The win was Sundh?s team-leading 29th on the season.
Kentucky went up 2-1 when No. 58 Agostinelli defeated Mack 6-2, 6-1 at the No. 3 hole. The win marked Agostinelli?s 25th of the season. Vanderbilt came back to tie the match at the No. 6 spot when Magarik defeated UK freshman Greg Anderson 6-2, 6-4.
With the match on the line, the Cats? turned to their three seniors. Emge put UK up 3-2 with a hard fought three-set victory over Dafaux at the No. 2 position. No. 115 Emge took the first set 6-3 before dropping the second set 3-6. In the third set, the Evansville, Ind., native outlasted Dafaux 6-3.
Fellow senior Carey Rubin also pushed his match to a third set but came up short against Sachs at the No. 4 position. Rubin, who was battling a shoulder injury, dropped the first set 4-6 before taking the second set 6-4. In the final set, Sachs scored a 4-6 win to take the match.
The match was clinched by Kentucky?s No. 1 player Hume. The nation?s 56th-ranked player also scored a three-set victory over No. 42 Preston. Hume lost his first set 3-6 before rallying to win the next two 7-5, 7-5. The victory marked the 28th on the season for the native of Alexandria, Va.
?All year long, our seniors have led the way for us and today?s match was indicative of that,? head coach Dennis Emery said. ?Carey (Rubin) gave a tremendous match today fighting through an injury. I was disappointed in our doubles play but we played better in singles action and our seniors came through in the clutch.?
The Wildcats return to action April 20-23 when they travel to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to participate in the SEC Tournament where they will be the fourth seed. Complete results and a recap will be available at ukathletics.com.
No. 30 UK def. No. 72 Vanderbilt 4-3
Doubles
1.Hume/Sundh (UK) def. Mack/Dafaux (VU) – 8-3
2.Preston/Magarick (VU) def. Emge/Collins (UK) 8-2
3.Sachs/Cromydas(VU) def. Agostinelli/Hodge – 8-4
Singles
1. Alex Hume (UK) def. Ryan Preston (VU) – 3-6, 7-5, 7-5
2. Nate Emge (UK) def. Evan Dafaux (VU) – 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
3. Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Andy Mack (VU) – 6-2, 6-1
4. Nathan Sachs (VU) def. Carey Rubin (UK) – 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
5. Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Nick Cromydas(VU) – 6-3, 6-0
6. Jordan Magarik (VU) def. Greg Anderson (UK) – 6-2, 6-4
