Kentucky Starts Season with Back-to-Back Sweeps

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 Kentucky men’s tennis team (2-0) opened its season in impressive fashion, sweeping Dayton (0-2) in back-to-back matches during Saturday’s doubleheader by scores of 5-0 and 4-0 at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. 
 
Yasha Zemel, the nation’s 122^nd-ranked singles player, led the way for the Blue and White. The sophomore earned the first singles point in both matches by scores of 6-2, 6-1 and 6-1, 6-1.
 
JJ Mercer earned his first clinching point at UK during his Wildcat debut. The 89^th-ranked singles player clinched the latter of the two matches by a score of 6-1, 6-2. 
 
Mercer makes up half of the 34^th-best doubles pair in the nation, as well, with he and his partner Joshua Lapadat earning both clinching matches for the doubles point.
 
Reigning Intercollegiate Tennis Association Player of the Year Liam Draxl made his return to the court during the morning tilt. His 6-1 doubles win with Millen Hurrion and 6-1, 6-3 singles victory marked his first time representing the Wildcats since the Final Four of last year’s NCAA Singles Tournament. 
 
Kentucky’s next match comes Friday against in-state rival Louisville. The Wildcats will host the Cardinals at the Boone Complex at 4 p.m. ET. 
 
Admission to all home matches for Kentucky Tennis is free of charge to the public. For any indoor match held on UK’s campus, masks for all attendees are required in conjunction with the University of Kentucky’s indoor mask mandate currently in place. Doors to the Boone Tennis Center will open one hour prior to the start of each match.
 
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.
 
 
MATCH 1
 
#12 Kentucky 5, Dayton 0
 
Singles
 
1. Liam Draxl (UK) def. Connor Bruce (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-3
2. #45 Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur (DAYTON) 6-2, 6-0 
3. #90 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Matt DeMarco (DAYTON) 6-2, 6-4 
4. #122 Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Will Harper (DAYTON) 6-2, 6-1
5. Eric Perkowski (DAYTON) vs. #89 JJ Mercer (UK) no result
6. Joe DeMarco (DAYTON) vs. Jonathan Sorbo (UK) no result
 
Doubles
1. Liam Draxl/Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Connor Bruce/Max DeCurtins (DAYTON) 6-1
2. #34 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. Joe DeMarco/Matt DeMarco (DAYTON) 6-4 
3. Yasha Zemel/Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur/Georgi Mavrodiev (DAYTON) 6-2
 
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2,3); Singles (4,2,1,3)
 
 
MATCH 2
 
#12 Kentucky 4, Dayton 0
 
Singles
1. Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Steven Karl (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-2
2. #89 JJ Mercer (UK) def. Eric Perkowski (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-2
3. #122 Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Joe DeMarco (DAYTON) 6-1, 6-1
4. Jonathan Sorbo (UK) vs. Georgi Mavrodiev (DAYTON) 6-0, 4-5, unfinished
5. Will Harper (DAYTON) vs. #90 Joshua Lapadat (UK) no result
6. Matt DeMarco (DAYTON) vs. #45 Francois Musitelli (UK) no result
 
Doubles
1. #34 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. Max DeCurtins/Joe DeMarco (DAYTON) 6-3 
2. Francois Musitelli/Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Will Harper/Connor Bruce (DAYTON) 6-3
3. Millen Hurrion/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Eric Perkowski/Steven Karl (DAYTON) 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (3,1,2)