Ryotaro Matsumura Falls in First Round of USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Championships
FLUSHING, N.Y. – Sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura of Kentucky
men’s tennis fell in the first round of the USTA/ITA National Indoor
Intercollegiate Championships on Thursday to No. 16 Wayne Montgomery of Georgia,
6-1, 6-3. The event is hosted by Columbia University and held at the
USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.
“Ryo had a little bit of a rough start today and couldn’t
quite recover,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “Wayne played a good match
beginning to end. Ryo will bounce back quickly. It’s a tough tournament and the
best are here. The margin of error is small and details make the difference. We
will try to bounce back tomorrow.”
Matsumura will face No. 14 Nicolas Alvarez of Duke on
Friday at 2 p.m. in the first round of the consolation bracket. The
quarterfinals and semifinals of the bracket will take place on Saturday, and
the event will end on Sunday.
Four Wildcats will continue play for Kentucky men’s
tennis at the SEC Fall Classic this weekend. Junior Jake Stefanik, junior Gus
Benson, junior Trey Yates and freshman Alex Dominguez will all compete at the
event in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The three-day event is hosted by the University
of Alabama and will take place in the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Stefanik and Benson both received byes in the John Stimpson
Main Draw of the tournament and will both compete on Friday at 12:30 p.m.
Stefanik will face either Cameron Andry of LSU or Austin Rables of Arkansas
while Benson will take on Arkansas’ Branch Terrell in the second round.
In the Jeff Robinson draw, Yates will face Auburn’s
Conner Huertas on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Dominguez will compete in the Francisco
Rodriguez draw and will matchup with Justin Butsch of LSU.
All four are also pairing up for doubles. Benson/Stefanik
will take on Gabriel Friedrich and Harrison O’Keefe of South Carolina in the
Ellis Ferriera draw on Friday at 9 a.m. Yates/Dominguez will play at the same
time but in the Andy Solis draw against Alabama’s Ritchie Kruunenberg and Alexey
Nesterov.
