The 42nd-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team pulled off its second upset this week, knockingoff 23rd-ranked Mississippi State, 4-3, on Tuesday, April 3 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Kentucky (9-11, 3-5 Southeastern Conference) had dropped its last seven matches going into this week,but after wins over No. 15 Auburn on Sunday and the Bulldogs today, the Cats appear to be heading in the rightdirection entering the final five matches of the regular season.
The Cats fell behind early as the Bulldogs were able to grab wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles to secure thepoint. The duo of Marco Baron and Chris McDonald fought off UK’s Reven Stephens and Johan Grunditz onthe first court, while the Bulldog team of Luiz Carvalho and Jerome LeBelicard secured the point over the Cattandem of Edo Bawono and Karim Benmansour at No. 2. Kentucky’s Matt Emery and Gustav Pousette wereleading State’s Rene-Charles Combette and Mathieu Soto on the third court, but play was suspended once thepoint was secured.
Emery looked commanding in singles play and snapped an eight match losing streak with his straight-setwin over Combette at No. 3 to even the score at one. Grunditz also notched a straight-set win at No. 4 over Sototo give UK the 2-1 edge. David Ruiz countered at No. 5, grabbing the win over Pousette and again knotting thescore.
Benmansour fought from behind after a first-set loss to LeBelicard on court two to take his match with a6-3 second set and a 6-2 final set. Kentucky again had the advantage as the attention turned to the No. 1 matchbetween Bawono and Carvalho, who was playing at No. 1 for the first time all season after Baron was pulledfrom the lineup after doubles with an injury. Bawono took the first set, 6-2, but Carvalho managed to fight backand take a second-set tiebreak to send it to a third set. Bawono was up 3-2 when his opponent went down withleg cramps. After using up his injury timeout, Carvalho was penalized points until he could play again. Playresumed with Bawono up 5-2, and Carvalho couldn’t bounce back. Kentucky clinched with the win at No. 1,while Max Fomine finished off competition on No. 6 by taking his match in three sets over UK’s Rahim Esmailto set the final score of 4-3.
“I’m really impressed with our level of concentration and competition tonight,” Coach Dennis Emery said.”We got real solid performances out of several players, which is critical going into the final weeks of the regularseason.”
Grunditz remains undefeated in the SEC, and with the win today he moves to 5-0 in conference play. The Catslook to continue their string of upsets on Friday, April 6 when they travel to Athens, Ga., to take on the No. 5Georgia Bulldogs. Action at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex is set to get underway at 5:30 p.m.
AGATE
Singles
No. 1 #49 Edo Bawono (UK) def. Luiz Carvalho (MSU) 6-2, 6-7 (5), 6-2
No. 2 Karim Benmansour (UK) def. Jerome LeBelicard (MSU) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
No. 3 Matt Emery (UK) def. Rene’-Charles Combette (MSU) 6-3, 6-0
No. 4 Johan Grunditz (UK) def. Mathieu Soto (MSU) 6-2, 6-4
No. 5 David Ruiz (MSU) def. Gustav Pousette (UK) 6-3, 7-5
No. 6 Max Fomine (MSU) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
No. 1 Baron/Chris McDonald (MSU) def. Grunditz/Stephens (UK) 8-5
No. 2 Carvalho/LeBelicard (MSU) def. Bawono/Benmansour (UK) 8-4
No. 3 Emery/Pousette (UK) led Combette/Soto (MSU) 6-5, susp.
