May 13, 2001
Kentucky ends season 15-15 after a 4-2 loss to No. 9 South AlabamaDespite claiming two singles victories in impressive form, the 25th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team was eliminated from the 2001 NCAA Team Championships with a 4-2 loss to regional host South Alabama on Sunday, May 13.
Kentucky (15-15, 5-6 Southeastern Conference) fell behind early as the Jaguars (29-2, 4-0 Sun Belt Conference) used their two ranked doubles tandems to notch wins at the No. 1 and 2 spots. The 27th-ranked duo of Christian Thall and Kosta Zinchanka took out UK juniors Johan Grunditz and Reven Stephens at No. 1, while 40th-ranked Vince Baudat and Julien Raynal edged out senior Edo Bawono and freshman Karim Benmansour at No. 2. Playing on the third court, freshman Matt Emery and junior Gustav Pousette secured the Cats’ lone doubles win over USA’s Evan Fowler and Zlatko Stupavsky with an 8-3 decision.
Bawono, the nation’s 23rd-ranked singles player easily disposed of 69th-ranked Thall in straight sets to even the score at one. Benmansour took his first set over No. 49 Raynal before falling in three sets. Emery looked fierce in his third set, holding Baudat scoreless in the tiebreak to secure the win, again evening the score. Freshman Rahim Esmail struggled with Fowler at No. 6, falling in straight sets to give the Jaguars the 3-2 advantage.
On the match-deciding court (No. 5), UK’s Pousette faced off against USA’s Stupavsky. Stupavsky took the first set, 6-3, before Pousette countered with a 6-4 second-set win. In the match’s final set, it was Stupavsky who came away victorious, narrowly edging out his opponent with a 6-4 win.
“They (South Alabama) are very experienced, not just in college tennis, but in their world travels of tennis,” Coach Dennis Emery said. “USA is a very good team and are difficult to beat. I think they are a real reflection of their coach (Scott Novak). They are the kind of team we hope we are next year.”
The loss ends UK’s 2001 team campaign and turns the focus toward Bawono, who will compete in the NCAA Singles Championships, May 23-28, in Athens, Ga. One year ago, UK watched senior Carlos Drada make an unprecedented run through the same tournament. Drada fought through back spasms and a hospital visit en route to the championship match. The Bogota, Columbia, native fell just short of capturing the NCAA crown, falling in the title bout to Stanford’s Alex Kim.
Bawono has enjoyed a fantastic senior season in his own right, going 13-2 in fall action including a 12-match win streak. As the Cats’ No. 1 player in the 2001 campaign, Bawono has tallied an impressive 16-9 record in spring play and an overall record of 29-12. His biggest win of the season came in the Cats’ loss to No. 9 Ole Miss in the SEC Tournament’s quarterfinal round. Bawono, then ranked 43rd, knocked off No. 9 Alex Hartman in three sets to improve his national standing by 20 places in the next singles’ rankings.
AGATESinglesNo. 1 #23 Edo Bawano (UK) def. #69 Christian Thall (USA) 6-3, 6-2No. 2 #42 Julien Raynal (USA) def. Karim Benmansour (UK) 1-6, 6-3, 6-4No. 3 Matt Emery (UK) def. Vince Baudat (USA) 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-6 (0)No. 4 Kosta Zinchanka (USA) vs. Johan Grunditz (UK) DNFNo. 5 Zlatko Stupavsky (USA) def. Gustav Pousette (UK) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4No. 6 Evan Fowler (USA) def. Rahim Esmail (UK) 6-3, 6-0
DoublesNo. 1 #27 Thall/Zinchanka (USA) def. Grunditz/Reven Stephens (UK) 8-4No. 2 #40 Baudat/Raynal (USA) def. Bawono/Benmansour (UK) 8-5No. 3 Emery/Pousette (UK) def. Fowler/Stupavsky (USA) 8-3
