Men’s Tennis Drops Tight Contest at No. 19 Tennessee
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.– Despite a trio of singles wins, including No. 121 Jack Loutit’s second top 30 win in three days, Kentucky (9-6, 2-3 SEC) dropped its second Southeastern Conference road match of the weekend, falling 4-3 at No. 19 Tennessee (11-6, 2-3 SEC).
In doubles action, Tennessee jumped out to early leads on all three courts and never looked back. Shunsuke Mitsui and Alan Jesudason bested Charlelie Cosnet and Jaden Weekes 6-2 on court two. The Vols clinched the opening point with a 6-4 win from Jan Kobierski and Jose Garcia over Martin Breysach and Matt Rankin on court three.
In singles play, the Cats rallied from some early deficits to take four of the six first sets, including a pair of tiebreakers from Cosnet and Loutit.
No. 25 Mitsui doubled the home team’s lead with a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 53 Weekes on the top court, but a quick 6-2, 6-2 win from Rankin at No. 5 earned the Cats first win of the match and pulled the visitors back within one.
Loutit would help pull the match even with a straight sets win over No. 29 Alex Kotzen at No. 2. Already taking down No. 27 Ryan Colby of Georgia on Friday, Loutit carried the momentum to Knoxville and turned around early break deficit and never looked back, winning 7-6 (3), 6-3.
Three third sets would decide the match, as Cosnet, Eli Stephenson, and Eric Crivei all had to play deciding sets. Cosnet was able to give the Cats their first and only lead of the match, as he rebounded from losing all six games in the second frame to blast Garcia in the third frame and take the 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-2 victory.
Needing only one more point to clinch the victory, the Cats were unable to win either of the remaining matches. Playing in his first career SEC match, Crivei responded strongly to a first set defeat to send the match to a third, but ultimately fell 6-3, 4-6, 6-0.
The dual would come down to Stephenson at No. 4, but the Louisville native was unable to hold his lead and seal the deal. Taking the first set, the sophomore was pushed to a third set that remained tied until a break from Garcia in the ninth game. Stephenson had two break points in the next game to extend the match, but dropped the 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 decision.
Kentucky will return to the Boone next week, hosting LSU on Thursday, March 13 at 5 p.m. ET and Vanderbilt on Saturday, March 15 at 1 p.m. ET. Admission to all home matches is free.
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No. 27 Kentucky vs. No. 19 Tennessee
Doubles Results
- Stephenson/Loutit (UK) vs. No. 11 Kotzen/Moreno (UT) 4-5 (unfinished)
- Mitsui/Jesudason (UT) def. Cosnet/Weekes (UK) 6-2
- Kobierski/Garcia (UT) def. Breysach/Rankin (UK) 6-4
Order of finish: 2, 3
Singles Results
- No. 25 Shunsuke Mitsui (UT) def. No. 53 Jaden Weekes (UK) 6-3, 6-2
- No. 121 Jack Loutit (UK) def. No. 29 Alex Kotzen (UT) 7-6 (3), 6-3
- No. 105 Charlelie Cosnet (UK) def. Jose Garcia (UT) 7-6 (3), 0-6, 6-2
- Alejandro Moreno (UT) def. Eli Stephenson (UK) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4
- Matt Rankin (UK) def. Jan Kobierski (UT) 6-2, 6-2
- Ian Cruz (UT) def. Eric Crivei (UK) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
Order of finish: 1, 5, 2, 3, 6, 4
