The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team continued to struggle on the courts, falling, 4-2, to No. 40South Carolina in Columbia, S.C., on Friday, March 23. The 38th-ranked Wildcats (7-9, 1-2 SoutheasternConference) are on a four-match losing skid which began on March 13 at No.1 UCLA.
The Gamecocks (10-4, 2-2 SEC) looked strong in doubles action, taking all three matches from the Catsto notch the point. The duo of Seth Rose and Carl Wermee took out Edo Bawono and Reven Stephens at No. 1,while Guilluame Legat and Marcus Westman knocked out Karim Benmansour and Johan Grunditz at themiddle position. On court number three it was USC’s David Nelson and Rodrigo Pacheco grabbing the winover UK’s tandem of Matt Emery and Rahim Esmail.
SEC Men’s Tennis Player of the Week Bawono had a tough time in singles play, falling to Legat in straightsets at the No. 1 position. The loss drops the lone seniors’ record to 10-5 in spring action. Emery took a 6-2first-set win over Rose at No. 2 before falling in three sets, while Benmansour was tough at No. 3, notching athree-set win over Nelson. Junior Gustav Pousette had his hands full with Westman and fell in three sets, butGrunditz was strong at No. 5, pulling out two close sets to take the win over Wermee. Match play betweenUSC’s Pacheco and UK freshman Rahim Esmail was suspended after Westman’s win guaranteed theGamecock win.
The Cats return for home action on Sunday, March 25 when they play host to No. 27 Florida at 2 p.m., atthe Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on UK’s campus.
AGATE
Singles
No. 1 # 80 Guillaume Legat (USC) def. Edo Bowano (UK) 6-0, 6-2
No. 2 Seth Rose (USC) def. Matt Emery (UK) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 3 Karim Benmansour (UK) def. David Nelson (USC.) 5-7, 6-3, 6-2
No. 4 Marcus Westman (USC.) def. Gustav Pousette (UK) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
No. 5 Johan Grunditz (UK) def. Carl Wermee (USC) 7-5, 7-6
No. 6 Rodrigo Pacheco (USC) vs. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-2, 6-7, 1-3 susp.
Doubles
No. 1 Rose/Wermee (USC) def. Bowano/Reven Stephens (UK) 8-1
No. 2 Legat/Westman (USC) def. Benmansour/Grunditz (UK) 8-4
No. 3 Nelson/Pacheco (USC) def. Emery/Esmail (UK) 8-5
