Wildcats Fall Short in ITA Regional Championship Finals

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Kentucky
men’s tennis was represented in the singles and doubles draw of the ITA Ohio
Valley Regional Championships, but were unable to take home the trophy on
Monday. Junior Trey Yates competed in the singles championship while the
pairing of senior Beck Pennington and sophomore Enzo Wallart competed in the
doubles championship.

In the singles finals, Yates
fell to Ryan Peniston of Memphis in a hard-fought 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 match. In the
doubles championship, the pairing of Pennington/Wallart were defeated by Luis
Valero and Jack Schipanski of Tennessee, 3-6, 6-4, 10-4.

Kentucky will now await the
bids of the ITA Wildcard. Sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura already punched his
ticket to New York for the National Indoor Championship with his victory in the
Oracle ITA Masters Tournament. To be considered for an at-large selection in
men’s singles, a player must have reached at least the quarterfinals of an ITA
Regional Championship.  Out of the pool
of players who apply and qualify for at-large consideration, the top UTR-rated
player will be the first at-large selected into the tournament.  The remaining at-large bids will be selected
in order of ITA Preseason Rankings.

The National Indoor
Championships will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
in Flushing, New York. The tournament serves as the final major tournament of
the fall season and will feature top players from across the country. To gain automatic
entry, student-athletes must be champions from the USTA/ITA Division I Regional
Championships, winners of the USTA/ITA National Small College Super Bowl or
consolation champions or doubles finalists from the Riviera/ITA Women’s
All-American Championships.