The 31st-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennisteam grabbed its third win in its past four matcheswhen it defeated Vanderbilt, 4-3, on Sunday, April 8at the Brownlee O’Currey Tennis Center in Nashville,Tenn.

Kentucky (10-13, 4-6 Southeastern Conference) got offto a quick start by grabbing the doubles point afternotching wins at No. 2 and No. 3. The duo of seniorEdo Bawono and freshman Karim Benmansour easily gotpast VU’s tandem of Brad Hambrick and Chad Harris,while junior Gustav Pousette and freshman Matt Emerypulled off the win for UK at No. 3 over Zach Daileyand Lewis Smith. The No. 1 doubles match between UK’sJohan Grunditz and Reven Stephens and Vanderbilt’sEddie Coates and Bobby Reynolds went unfinished afterUK secured the doubles point.

In singles action, 80th-ranked Coates was able topush past UK’s 47th-ranked Bawono in straight sets atNo. 1 to knot the score. Victories at positions three,four and five secured the UK win as Emery knocked offHarris with a second set tiebreak win. Grunditzdefeated Dailey in straight sets to move his SECrecord to 8-0 on the season and improve his overallrecord this year to 21-9.

Pousette also recorded a straight-set win over Smith,while freshman Rahim Esmail struggled at No. 6 andfell to the Commodores’ Jens Frederiksen in straightsets. Benmansour defaulted his match at No. 2 after UKsecured the victory, giving Reynolds the win.

“The guys came out and played really hard today,”Head Coach Dennis Emery said. “This is exactly thekind of play we want to see out of our team headinginto the final week of the regular season.”

Kentucky closes out the 2001 regular season campaignnext weekend in Lexington. On Friday, April 13, theCats play host to a doubleheader with in-state rivalsMorehead State and Eastern Kentucky. UK takes on theEagles of MSU at 2 p.m. before facing the Colonels at7 p.m. The Cats will bid farewell to senior Edo Bawonoon Sunday, April 15, when Kentucky hosts Arkansas onSenior Day. The match is set to get underway at 12p.m., before the UK women’s tennis team takes onTennessee at 3 p.m. All UK home matches are played atthe Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on UK’s campus.

Singles

No. 1 #80 Eddie Coates (VU) def. #47 Edo Bawono (UK) 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Bobby Reynolds (VU) vs. Karim Benmansour (UK) 3-6, 6-3, 2-2, def.
No. 3 Matt Emery (UK) def. Chad Harris (VU) 6-4,7-6(1)
No. 4 Johan Grunditz (UK) def. Zach Dailey (VU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 5 Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Lewis Smith (VU) 6-2, 6-2
No. 6 Jens Frederiksen (VU) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles

No. 1 Coates/Reynolds (VU) vs. Grunditz/Reven Stephens(UK) DNF
No. 2 Bawono/Benmansour (UK) def. Hambrick/Harris (VU) 8-4
No. 3 Pousette/Emery (UK) def. Dailey/Smith (VU) 8-4