May 24, 2002

The University of Kentucky men’s tennis freshman, Jesse Witten, continued his bid for the NCAA Singles Championship title with a third round victory on May 24 in College Station, Texas. Witten defeated Amer Delic of Illinois in three sets to advance to the quarterfinal round on Saturday, May 25, where he will face Oliver Maiberger of San Diego State.

With an even score of 2-2 early in the first set, Witten dominated the final games to win the set, 6-4. Delic, who had defeated Witten in October, rallied back from a 3-0 second-set deficit to take the set victory, 6-4. In an intense third set with alternating game victories, Witten battled to the very end to take a powerful 7-5 win over Delic to advance to the quarterfinals.

Witten, who is ranked sixth in the nation, earned All-America honors with his second-round victory that led him into the round of 16 action today. Witten and top seeded defending champion, Matias Boeker of Georgia are the only seeded players remaining among the final eight athletes. With his fourth seed, Witten was the highest seeded American in the tournament and is the only freshman still in action.

“This match exemplifies the level of competition we have battling for the title,” Coach Dennis Emery said. “Jesse played great tennis today and fought hard for this victory. I feel confident about the way he has been playing and how he will show in tomorrow’s match.”