No. 25 Kentucky Sweeps Illinois State Doubleheader
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 25 Kentucky opened its spring season with back-to-back sweeps of Illinois State (0-4), defeating the Redbirds by scores of 7-0 and 4-0 on Saturday at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Sophomore Liam Draxl, the nation’s 45th-ranked singles player, spearheaded the Wildcats’ wins with the first singles point in each contest from the No. 1 spot, beating Melker Isaakson 6-2, 6-1 and Nam Pham 6-1, 6-1.
Each match was clinched from the No. 2 singles slot, first by sophomore Gabriel Diallo and later by senior Millen Hurrion. The underclassman defeated Illinois State’s Diego Le Gal Perez 6-4, 6-1, while Hurrion beat the same Spanish sophomore 6-0, 6-4.
Freshman Mathis Moysan—a late addition to the Kentucky roster—and redshirt sophomore Jonathan Sorbo each collected their first career singles victories in a collegiate dual match. Moysan defeated Aleksa Lazarevic 6-2, 6-4 and Pol Botifoll Rius 6-1, 6-2, and Sorbo beat Min-Chieh Chiu 6-0, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7) in the day’s morning session.
“It was good to be back on the court again after a long time out,” said head coach Cedric Kauffmann. “The boys did well today, and we are looking forward to a tough test tomorrow.”
The Wildcats are slated for a quick turnaround with their third match this weekend, hosting ETSU (0-1) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.
#25 Kentucky 7, Illinois State 0
Singles
1.#45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. Melker Isaakson (ISU) 6-2, 6-1
2.Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Diego Le Gal Perez (ISU) 6-4, 6-1
3.Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Nam Pham (ISU) 6-2, 6-3
4.César Bourgois (UK) def. Pol Botifoll Rius (ISU) 6-2, 6-2
5.Mathis Moysan (UK) def. Aleksa Lazarevic (ISU) 6-2, 6-4
6.Jonathan Sorbo (UK) def. Min-Chieh Chiu (ISU) 6-0, 6-7 (4-7), 1-0 (10-7)
Doubles
1.César Bourgois/Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Diego Le Gal Perez/Melker Isaakson (ISU) 6-3
2.Alexandre LeBlanc/Liam Draxl (UK) def. Aleksa Lazarevic/Pol Botifoll Rius (ISU) 6-2
3.Millen Hurrion/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Nam Pham/Shu-Lun Chang (ISU) 6-1
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,4,2,3,5,6)
#25 Kentucky 4, Illinois State 0
Singles
1.#45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. Nam Pham (ISU) 6-1, 6-1
2.Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Diego Le Gal Perez (ISU) 6-0, 6-4
3.Mathis Moysan (UK) def. Pol Botifoll Rius (ISU) 6-1, 6-2
4.#114 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) vs. Aleksa Lazarevic (ISU) 6-4, 1-2, unfinished
5.Mike Agee (ISU) vs. Ying-Ze Chen (UK) no result
6.Diego Herrera (ISU) vs. Jonathan Sorbo (UK) no result
Doubles
1.César Bourgois/Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Pol Botifoll Rius/Aleksa Lazarevic (ISU) 6-2
2.Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Diego Le Gal Perez/Zacharias Rasmusson (ISU) 6-2
3.Millen Hurrion/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Brandon Lew/Diego Herrera (ISU) 6-0
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (1,3,2)
