May 11, 2003

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky men’s tennis team initiated a furious rally in its five hour-plus match against 22nd-ranked Ohio State, but the Buckeyes had just enough to turn away the Cats’ bid for a victory, as OSU defeated UK 4-3 Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Indoor Tennis Center. The match was moved indoors because of persistent gusty winds.

Kentucky started the match by capturing the doubles point. Rahim Esmail and Jesse Witten defeated OSU’s Scott Green and Ross Wilson, 8-1 at No. 1, and Karim Benmansour and Matt Emery held off Vince Ng and Jeremy Wurtzman by a 9-7 count to give UK a 1-0 lead.

In singles play, Ohio State’s Phil Metz put the Buckeyes on the board with a 6-2, 6-1 victory at No. 4 over Emery. OSU’s Wurtzman defeated UK’s Evan Austin at No. 2, 7-6 (4), 6-1 to give the Buckeyes a 2-1 lead. UK’s Benmansour tied the match at two with a 7-6 (1), 6-3 win at No. 2 over Dennis Mertens.

At No. 1, OSU’s Ng took his first set against UK’s Witten, 6-2, fell in the second, 6-3, but pulled away in the third set, winning 6-2. At No. 5, Kentucky’s Esmail turned in a strong performance to keep the Cats alive. After dropping the first set, 6-4, a reinvigorated Esmail took the second set, 6-3 and dominated in the third, tying the score at three with a 6-1 showing.

Freshman Alex Hume turned in a gutsy performance at No. 6 singles. After dropping the first set, 6-3, Hume found himself in a second-set tiebreaker. Hume rejected three OSU match points, taking the tiebreaker by an 11-9 count. But in the third set, OSU’s Ross Wilson was too much, clinching the match for Ohio State with a 6-2 third-set showing, ending Kentucky’s post-season run.

Kentucky ends the season at 19-12. With the team schedule having come to a close, Jesse Witten will now turn his attention to the NCAA Men’s Singles Championships, set to begin May 21 at the University of Georgia. In 2002, Witten knocked off five highly-regarded individuals before falling in the national-title match to Georgia’s Matias Boeker.

AGATE:

Doubles1. Rahim Esmail/Jesse Witten (UK) def. Scott Green/Ross Wilson (OSU) 8-12. Karim Benmansour/Matt Emery (UK) def. Vince Ng/Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) 9-73. Evan Austin/Alex Hume (UK) vs. Phil Metz/Brenton Contini (OSU) susp.

Singles

1. Vince Ng (OSU) def. Jesse Witten (UK)   6-2, 3-6, 6-22. Jeremy Wurtzman (OSU) def. Evan Austin (UK)   7-6 (4), 6-13. Karim Benmansour (UK) def. Dennis Mertens (OSU)   7-6 (1), 6-34. Phil Metz (OSU) def. Matt Emery (UK)   6-2, 6-15. Rahim Esmail (UK) def. Brenton Contini (OSU)   4-6, 6-3, 6-16. Ross Wilson (OSU) def. Alex Hume (UK)   6-3, 6-7 (9), 6-2