Despite knocking off the fifth-ranked singles playerin the country, the University of Kentucky menstennis team came up short against No. 4 Georgia inAthens, Ga., on Friday, April 6. The 31st-rankedWildcats grabbed victories at No. 1 and No. 3 singles,but fell to the Bulldogs, 5-2.
Kentucky (9-13, 3-6 Southeastern Conference) fellbehind early as the Bulldogs, who remain unbeaten inthe SEC at 9-0, swept the doubles to take the firstpoint of the match. The fifth-ranked duo of MatiasBoeker and Travis Parrott topped UKs Johan Grunditzand Reven Stephens at No. 1, while UGAs Bo Hodge andBrandon Wagner got past Matt Emery and KarimBenmansour at No. 2. Rounding out the doubles slatewere Georgias Lesley Joseph and Demetris Leontis, whodefeated the newly formed tandem of Elliott Datlow andRahim Esmail.
Benmansour topped the nations fifth-ranked playerHodge in three sets at No.1. This marks only thesecond time all season that the freshman has played atNo. 1 for the Cats. UKs other singles win came fromjunior Grunditz, who extended his unbeaten streak inthe SEC to seven matches and moves to 20-9 on theseason with his win over 27th-ranked Joseph.
“We are definitely excited about the big wins we gotfrom Karim and Johan today,” Coach Dennis Emery said.”Georgia is a top-notch team, and they are hitting onall cylinders right now. Johan and Karim were able tokeep their concentration level up and bring home someimpressive wins tonight.”
The Cats return to action on Sunday, April 8, whenthey continue their weekend road swing with a trip toNashville, Tenn., to take on No. 39 Vanderbilt. Thematch marks the final road trip of the regular-seasonfor the Cats before returning home on Friday, April13th to host a double-header with intra-state rivalsMorehead State and Eastern Kentucky at 2 and 7 p.m.,respectively. UK closes out its regular-season homeschedule on Sunday, April 15, when they host Arkansasat 12 p.m.
Also ahead for the Cats is the SEC Championships,which they will host at the Hilary J. Boone TennisComplex, April 19-22. For information on tickets tothe matches, call the UK ticket office at (859)257-1818, or toll-free at (800) 928-CATS.
Singles
1. Karim Benmansour (UK) def. #5 Bo Hodge (UGA) 6-4,1-6, 7-5
2. #35 Chad Carlson (UGA) def. Matt Emery (UK) 6-4,6-1
3. Johan Grunditz (UK) def. #27 Lesley Joseph (UGA) 3-6, 6-3, 1-0 (7) **
4. #45 Travis Parrott (UGA) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-0, 6-2
5. #42 Brandon Wagner (UGA) def. Reven Stephens (UK) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
6. Nicolas Boeker (UGA) def. Elliott Datlow (UK) 6-3, 6-0
Doubles
1. #5 M. Boeker/Parrott (UGA) def. Grunditz/Stephens(UK) 8-3
2. Wagner/Hodge (UGA) def. Emery/Benmansour (UK) 8-5
3. Joseph/Leontis (UGA) def. Datlow/Esmail (UK) 8-2*
