May 16, 1999
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 13th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis teamrecorded its second straight shutout of the NCAA Tournament as the Wildcatsdefeated No. 14 South Carolina, 4-0, in the second round.
UK (17-9) went into singles play with a 1-0 lead as the Cats won thedoubles point. UK’s Tomas Smid, Gustav Pousette and Johan Grunditz, allfreshmen, each won in straight sets to give the Cats a 4-0 victory over theGamecocks, avenging their 4-3 loss to USC (18-12) during the regular season.
“I thought that the doubles point would decide the match,” UK coach DennisEmery said. “I thought we’d have another 4-3 match. But the key to ourgetting off to such a good start in the singles matches was our winning thedoubles point.”
UK has yet to lose a match in the NCAA Tournament, as the Cats beat EastTennessee State, 4-0, on Saturday. UK has dominated both opponents withoutdropping a set, despite an injury that forced No. 1 singles player JohanHesoun to sit out singles play against ETSU and UK’s placement in the onlyregion that included two top 15 teams.
“We clearly had the toughest region,” Emery said. “It’s unfair to bothKentucky and South Carolina to have to play a team that is so highly ranked.”
The Wildcats advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Athens, Ga., May 22-30, wherethey will face either second-ranked Duke or Clemson.
Kentucky 4, South Carolina 0
Doubles
1. Hesoun/Patrik Johansson (UK) def. Pavicevic/Wawrzyniak (USC), 8-42. Bawono/Smid (UK) def. Olof Akesson/Legat (USC), 8-63. Gamboa/Jourdon (USC) def. Drada/Reven Stephens (UK), 8-5
Singles
1. Johan Hesoun (UK) vs. Jerome Jourdon (USC), DNF2. Carlos Drada (UK) vs. Guillaume Legat (USC), DNF3. Tomas Smid (UK) def. Vladimir Pavicevic (USC), 6-1, 7-54. Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Olof Akesson (USC), 6-4, 6-35. Edo Bawono (UK) vs. Juan Gamboa (USC), DNF6. Johan Grunditz (UK) def. Tomasz Wawrzyniak (USC), 6-3, 6-4
Team Records: Kentucky 17-9, South Carolina 18-12
