UK Men’s Tennis Claims Three Titles at Louisville Invitational
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats men’s tennis team continued its fall 2019 slate with its most successful tournament to date, earning three separate titles at the Louisville Invitational last weekend.
Freshman sensation Alexandre LeBlanc headlined the Cats’ collection of individual performances with a championship in both the B Singles and B Doubles competitions. The 6-foot-4 Canadian defeated Butler’s Olof Wiklund (6-3, 6-4), as well as Middle Tennessee’s Bradley Buckland (6-2, 6-3) and Max Rauch (7-6, 7-6), setting up a would-be finals bout against teammate Kevin Huempfner.
However, Huempfner and Middle Tennessee sophomore Pavel Motl traded places in the A and B Singles brackets to avoid a same-school matchup for both UK and MTSU, leading to a 7-5, 4-6, 10-7 defeat of Motl by LeBlanc. Huempfner’s singles run ended with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 loss to Blue Raiders senior Tom Moonen in the A Singles final.
“Alex really competed and played like a mature player,” said head coach Cedric Kauffmann. “He played the right way and served really well.”
LeBlanc and Huempfner teamed up for the B Doubles portion of the contest, cruising to three straight victories and the championship crown. The duo beat Maksim Bogdanovich and Jake Penny of Lipscomb 6-3, Laurentiu Mandocescu and Erik Gran of Youngstown State 6-4 and Yusuf Khamis and Juan Lugo of ETSU 6-3.
UK upperclassmen Millen Hurrion and César Bourgois also emerged victorious in the doubles realm, defeating Lipscomb’s Pablo Caffarena and Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto 6-2, Butler’s Wiklund and Thomas Brennan 6-4 and Middle Tennessee’s Moonen and Daniel Stormon 7-6 for the A Doubles championship.
“It was a really good weekend for us,” Kauffmann said. “We want to focus a bit more on our doubles this fall, and the guys are really listening and executing well. We won both draws, which is never easy to do. The pairs worked really well together and competed at a high level.
Kentucky’s next fall tune-up will begin Thursday, Oct. 24 at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Nashville, Tennessee.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and follow along on the web at UKAthletics.com.
A Singles
First Round Millen Hurrion (Kentucky) def. Louis Gorregues (Temple) 6-1, 6-4
César Bourgois (Kentucky) def. Gonzalo Garcia Nieto (Lipscomb) 6-4, 6-1
Quarterfinals Pavel Motl (Middle Tennessee) def. Millen Hurrion (Kentucky) 7-5, 6-2
Marin Delmas (Temple) def. César Bourgois (Kentucky) 6-1, 6-3
Championship Tom Moonen (Middle Tennessee) def. Kevin Huempfner (Kentucky) 6-3, 4-6, 10-6
B Singles
First Round Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Olof Wiklund (Butler) 6-3, 6-4
Kevin Huempfner (Kentucky) def. Jose Galvez (Kennesaw State) 6-2, 6-4
Quarterfinals Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Bradley Buckland (Middle Tennessee) 6-2, 6-3
Kevin Huempfner (Kentucky) def. Thibault Frumholz (Temple) 6-1, 7-5
Semifinals Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Max Rauch (Middle Tennessee) 7-6, 7-6
Kevin Huempfner (Kentucky) def. Juan Lugo (ETSU) 6-4, 6-3
Championship Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Pavel Motl (Middle Tennessee) 7-5, 4-6, 10-7
A Doubles
First Round César Bourgois/Millen Hurrion (Kentucky) def. Pablo Caffarena/Gonzalo Garcia-Nieto (Lipscomb) 6-2
Semifinals César Bourgois/Millen Hurrion (Kentucky) def. Thomas Brennan/Olof Wiklund (Butler) 6-4
Championship César Bourgois/Millen Hurrion (Kentucky) def. Tom Moonen/Daniel Stormon (Middle Tennessee) 7-6
B Doubles
First Round Kevin Huempfner/Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Maksim Bogdanovich/Jake Penny (Lipscomb) 6-3
Semifinals Kevin Huempfner/Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Laurentiu Mandocescu/Erik Gran (Youngstown State) 6-4
Championship Kevin Huempfner/Alexandre LeBlanc (Kentucky) def. Yusuf Khamis/Juan Lugo (ETSU) 6-3
