Jan. 18, 2002
– The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team finished the second day of the Southeastern Conference Indoor Tennis Championships with success after two rounds of singles competition. Among the top teams still competing for the titles are Georgia with three players still seeing action, Kentucky with two and Mississippi State, Tennessee and Ole Miss with one. Three of five Kentucky players in the second round advanced to the round of 16 bringing an all UK match to decide a quarterfinals spot.
Senior Gustav Pousette advanced to the third round after defeating Trey Johnson of Florida,6-4, 6-3. An hour before Pousette’s victory, UK freshman Jessie Witten took part of a thrilling match against C.Lindholm of Mississippi, which was decided by a second set tiebreak. Witten grabbed the victory and would advance to compete against fellow teammate, team co-captain and Wildcat veteran, Pousette, for a spot in the quarterfinals. In a battle of the Wildcats, Witten grabbed the first set but Pousette fought back in the second for a 7-5 victory. Witten came back and dominated the third set, 6-1, taking the match victory and advancement to thhe quarterfinals.
Karim Benmansour dropped the first set to the tournament’s fifth seed, Alex Hartman of Ole Miss in the second round of the main draw. After taking an injury timeout for a sore upper arm, Benmansour fought through the pain but still came up short and dropped the match, 6-1, 6-4. Matt Emery dropped a tough first set to Andrew Colombo of Auburn. Emery battled back in the second for the victory, but dropped the match losing the third set, 6-4. Senior Johan Grunditz continued his campaign for the singles title cruising to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Tennessee’s Adam Carey advancing to the round of 16 with teammates Pousette and Witten. Grunditz took a victory in the third round over the No. 1 seed, Brandon Wagner. Grunditz overpowered Wagner for the upset in consecutive sets.
Freshman Evan Austin grabbed his first singles victory of the tournament with a win over Mississippi State’s Jerome LeBelicard in the first round of the consolation bracket. In the second round facing South Carolina’s Carl Wermee, Austin took a straight set, 6-4, 6-2 , victory to advance to the quarterfinals. Also in consolation action, Rahim Esmail defeated Zach Dailey of Tennessee in the opening round. In the second round, Esmail defeated Ben Atkinson of South Carolina after a tough first set victory but eased through the second for a 7-5, 6-3 victory.
Elsewhere in the tournament brackets, first seed Brandon Wagner cruised to a victory over Florida’s Ross Greenstein, 6-0, 6-3, only to suffer a loss in the next round. Teammate Bo Hodge grabbed a victory after a difficult second set (6-2, 7-6(1)) and also took the win over Aymeric Henou of Mississippi State in two sets. Ninth seeds Adam Carey(UT) and Daniel Kiernan(LSU) both suffered losses in the second round. Tiago Ruffoni, the fifth seed who suffered a loss in the opening round, lost another match in the first round of consolation play against Luiz Carvalho of Mississippi State.
The tournament continues Saturday Jan. 19 with consolation rounds along with the quarterfinals and semifinals of the doubles bracket. Action is set to begin at 9:30 with consolation rounds followed by doubles and will take place at the Boone Tennis Complex on the UK campus. Admission is free.
UK AGATE:Consolation-First RoundEvan Austin, UK def. Jerome LeBelicard, MSU6-2, 6-4Rahim Esmail, UK def. Zach Dailey, UT6-3, 6-1Second RoundEvan Austin, UK def. Carl Wermee, USC6-4, 6-2Rahim Esmail, UK def. Ben Atkinson, USC 7-5, 6-3
Main Draw- Second RoundAlex Hartman, UM def. Karim Benmansour, UK6-1, 6-4Johan Grunditz, UK def. Adam Carey, UT6-1, 6-2Gustav Pousette, UK def. Trey Johnson, UF6-4, 6-3Jesse Witten, UK def. C. Lindholm6-4, 7-6(3)Andrew Colombo, AU def. Matt Emery, UK7-6(6), 1-6, 6-4Third Round (Round of 16)Johan Grunditz, UK def. Brandon Wagner, UGA6-4, 6-4Jesse Witten, UK def. Gustav Pousette, UK6-3, 5-7, 6-1
Doubles- Round 2Dietrich/Handoyo, UT def. Harris/Reynolds, VU8-3Chucri/Hartman, UM def. Emery/Witten, UK8-6
Saturday MatchesConsolation QF@ 9:30a.m.Sebastian Rutka, LSU vs. Evan Austin, UKLuiz Carvalho, MSU vs. Rene-Charles Combette, MSUChris Gostek, UA vs. Mark Dietrich, UTJason Hazley, LSU vs. Rahim Esmail, UK
Doubles QF-following singles roundColombo/Ruffoni, AU vs. Austin/Benmansour, UKLevant/Magallan, UF vs. Gostek/Mitchell, UAAmbert/Combette, MSU vs. Boeker/Wagner, UGA
Singles QF @ 11a.m.Johan Grunditz, UK vs. Romain Ambert, MSUJesse Witten, UK vs. Nicholas Boeker, UGALesley Joseph, UGA vs. Alex Hartman, UMPeter Handoyo, UT vs. Bo Hodge, UGA
