The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team made a strong effort but came up short in its attempt to knock offthe eighth-ranked Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday night in Champaign, Ill., as the Cats were dealt their first loss of theseason.
The 41st-ranked Cats (4-1, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) looked strong in doubles competition as the No. 2duo of senior Edo Bawono and junior Reven Stephens knocked off the team of Michael Calkins and Jamal Parkerto mark the Cats first victory. The No. 3 pair of freshmen Matt Emery and Rahim Esmail were looking to clinch thedoubles point for UK when UI’s Mike Kosta and Nathan Zeder, ranked seventh in the nation, came from behind towin, and with a win by Amer Delic and Graydon Oliver, the nation’s ninth-ranked doubles tandem, clinched thepoint for the Illini.
The Cats lone singles victory came at the No. 3 position where junior Gustav Pousette broke his two-matchlosing skid by knocking off Delic in straight sets. Bawono, the country’s 99th-ranked singles competitor took No. 65Oliver to three sets, but was overpowered and handed only his fifth loss of his senior season, moving him to 16-5.Emery also looked strong against the 35th-ranked Phil Stolt, pushing his first set to a tiebreak loss before losing thematch on a 7-5 second set.
“I thought there were a lot of positives in our performance tonight,” Coach Dennis Emery said. “We competedagainst some of the best in the country and, by far, the toughest competition we’ve seen all season. A match like thisis the best possible preparation for the tough competition we will face in the SEC.”
The Cats wrap up their seven-match road stint on Sunday, Feb. 11 when they travel to Boston, Mass., to takeon Harvard and Boston College at 1:30 and 7 p.m., respectively. UK will open its home schedule on Valentine’sDay, Feb. 14, when it plays host to the Ohio State Buckeyes at 5 p.m. at the Hilary J. Boone Indoor Tennis Center onUK’s Campus.
AGATE
Singles
1. No. 65 Graydon Oliver (ILL) def. No. 99 Edo Bawano (UK) 6-2, 3-6,6-3
2. No. 35 Phil Stolt (ILL) def. Matt Emery (UK) 7-6 (5), 7-5
3. Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Amer Delic (ILL) 6-2, 6-3
4. Mike Kosta (ILL) def. Johan Grunditz (UK) 3-6, 6-2, 6-3
5. Michael Calkins (ILL) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-3, 6-1
6. Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Reven Stephens (UK) 6-4, 7-5
Doubles
1. No. 9 Graydon Oliver/Amer Delic (ILL) def. Karim Benmansour/JohanGrunditz (UK) 8-3
2. No. 42 Reven Stephens/Edo Bawano (UK) def. Michael Calkins/Jamal Parker (ILL) 8-5
3. No. 7 Mike Kosta/Nathan Zeder (ILL) def. Rahim Esmail/Matthew Emery (UK) 8-6
