The 42nd-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team snapped a seven-match losing streak when it knocked off15th-ranked Auburn, 5-2, at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center on Sunday, April 1.

Kentucky (8-11, 2-5 Southeastern Conference) set the tone early, grabbing the doubles point from the Tigers to gain the earlyadvantage. The team of junior Gustav Pousette and freshman Matt Emery got things going with its win over AU’s Ryan Sanders andEstevam Strecker at No. 3, while the duo of senior Edo Bawono and freshman Karim Benmansour secured the doubles point for UKwhen they took out the Tiger team of Mark Kovacs and Rameez Junaid. Auburn’s fourth-ranked duo of George Matijasevic and TiagoRuffoni were too much for UK’s No. 1 pair of juniors Johan Grunditz and Reven Stephens, as they handed UK its only doubles loss.

The Cats started off singles play with two straight-set wins as 49th-ranked Bawono took out 83rd-ranked Matijasevic at No. 1, andGrunditz knocked off Kovacs in straight sets at No. 3. With the win, Grunditz remains unbeaten in SEC play and improves his record to4-0 on the season.

Auburn bounced back with wins at No. 2 and 3, as 35th-ranked Ruffoni took out Benmansour, while Junaid fought through threesets to notch the win over Emery. With the pressure on, Pousette came up big at No. 5, handing Strecker a straight-set loss to notchthe win for the Wildcats. Esmail added to the final tally by finishing off Raitis Tukans, 6-0, in the second set after a 7-5 first-set tally.

“I think we played some great tennis today,” Coach Dennis Emery said. “Auburn is really good and a very talented team. I thinkour team did a good job of keeping it together through some tough times these past few weeks, and that paid off today.”

The Cats look to continue their tough play on Tuesday, April 3, when they play host to No. 23 Mississippi State. The match will beplayed at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on UK’s campus and is set to get underway at 6 p.m.

Singles

No. 1 #49 Edo Bawono (UK) def. #83 George Matijasevic (AU) 6-3, 6-2
No. 2 #35 Tiago Ruffoni (AU) def. Karim Benmansour (UK) 6-14, 7-6 (4)
No. 3 Rameez Junaid (AU) def. Matt Emery (UK) 7-5, 3-6, 6-2
No. 4 Johan Grunditz (UK) def. Mark Kovacs (AU) 6-0, 6-3
No. 5 Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Estevam Strecker (AU) 6-3, 6-2 *
No. 6 Rahim Esmail (UK) def. Raitis Tukans (AU) 7-5, 6-0

Doubles

No. 1 #4 Matijasevic/Ruffoni (AU) def. Grunditz/Stephens (UK) 8-5
No. 2 Bawono/Benmansour (UK) def. Kovacs/Junaid (AU) 8-6
No. 3 Emery/Pousette (UK) def. Ryan Sanders/Strecker (AU) 8-5