Jan. 20, 2002
– The Southeastern Conference Indoor Tennis Championships came to a close at the Hilary Boone Tennis Center with two Wildcats advancing to the final round. Kentucky’s two freshmen, Jesse Witten and Evan Austin, advanced to the title match in the singles main draw and consolation.
Austin advanced to the consolation final when he defeated Rene-Charles Combette of Mississippi State. Austin won the first set in a tiebreak, 7-6(4) and dominated the second, 6-1 to grab the victory. Jason Hazley of LSU became Austin’s opponent in the finals when he defeated Alabama’s Chris Gostek in two powerful sets. In the final match, Hazley took the first set with a powerful 3-6 win, but Austin came back to take the second, 7-5. In the third set, Austin overpowered Hazley to take the match and the title. This was the second tournament Austin has played in as a Wildcat and entered the consolation bracket after dropping his first round match against Vanderbilt’s Bobby Reynolds.
In the main draw, Witten took a first set victory over Mississippi State’s Romain Ambert in a tiebreak to set the theme for the tough semifinal match that would last nearly three hours. After dropping the second set, Witten used his frustration and came back forceful, grabbing the third set, 6-2 to clinch his spot in the final match. Witten’s opponent for the title, Tennessee’s Peter Handoyo, grabbed his spot in the final match after taking a straight set win over Georgia’s Lesley Joseph. Handoyo challenged Witten in the final match taking a first set win, 6-2. Still feeling effects of his long semifinal match, which was played only approximately one hour before, Witten could not find his way to victory as he dropped the second set, 6-3
After a short celebration, Handoyo went back on the court playing in the doubles final with partner, Mark Dietrich. Handoyo showed no signs of fatigue as the duo defeated Olivier Levant and Eleazar Magallan of Florida, 8-6.
Senior Johan Grunditz was given the Sportsmanship Award for the tournament. Grunditz defeated the top seed of the tournament, Brandon Wagner of Georgia, in the round of 16 before falling to Romain Ambert of MSU in the quarterfinal round. The recipient of the award is decided by votes from coaches and players on the individual’s performance throughout the tournament.
The Wildcats return to action on Wednesday, Jan. 23, in the team’s first dual matches of the season. Both matches will take place in the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on the UK campus.
