University of Kentucky men’s tennis newcomer Todd Scheck used aggressive, emotionally-chargedplay to tackle his first two opponents as a Wildcat and advance to the semifinals of the KentuckyWinterslam 2001 on Saturday, Jan. 20, at the Boone Tennis Center on the UK campus.

Scheck, a sophomore from Englewood Cliffs, N.J., looked impressive in his first match, taking downEastern Kentucky’s Brad Herrera, 6-3, 6-3. In afternoon action, Scheck faced Morehead’s Ben Schmid anddropped the first set 4-6 before rebounding from a 5-1 deficit to take the second set 7-5. Schmid wouldn’tback down and the two battled to a 7-6 tiebreak situation before Scheck won out 7-4 in the decisive battle.Scheck advances to the semifinal on Sunday to take on Ohio State’s Vince Ng.

“I thought Todd really worked hard on the court today and showed that he is very committed tocompeting at this level,” Associate Head Coach Ford Lankford said. “He rallied from behind in his secondmatch to win and advance to the semifinals, which shows he has the desire and heart to succeed.”Also debuting before the home crowd on Saturday was freshman Karim Benmansour, who tackled firstround opponent Luke Recker of EKU in straight sets, 6-4, 6-1, before being overpowered by Ohio State’sBrenton Contini, 6-4, 6-3. Benmansour moves into a consolation bracket on Sunday and will face OSU’sBen Kirksey.

Freshman Justin Kinney fought through back pain in his first round match with DePaul’s Sanjay Jeram.Kinney dropped the first set 7-5 before impressively claiming the middle set 6-3. The two battled hard inthe third, with Jeram winning out with a 7-5 decision. Kinney sat out of his second round matchup to rest hisback, as DePaul’s Maciek Jozwiak took his spot.

Action continues tomorrow at the Boone Indoor Tennis Center as Scheck and Benmansour meet theirrespective opponents at 9 a.m. The tournament will conclude on Sunday afternoon.