Sept. 23, 2001

The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team grabbed victories in the second round of the singles competition of the Southern Collegiate Championships in Athens, Ga. on Saturday, Sept. 22, but suffered losses in the third round.

After winning the opening set against UNC-Greensboro’s Tony Mule, Jesse Witten lost a tough second set, 2-6, but battled back to win the match with a third set victory of 7-6. Rahim Esmail defeated Kareem Bennett of Florida A&M in two sets, while teammate Gustav Pousette also won in two sets against Razvan Ilie of Tennessee Tech.

In third round competition, Witten lost a heartbreaker to Georgia’s Brandon Wagner after winning the first set 6-4 and giving up the last two sets. Pousette also suffered a loss in three sets to Wake Forest’s Trent Brandon. Esmail was defeated by Stephen Moore of Georgia, 6-3, 6-4.

Tournament play continues on Sunday, Sept. 23, at 8 a.m. at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex.

AGATE

Singles
Round TwoJesse Witten, UK def. Tony Mule, UNC-Greensboro.        6-0, 2-6, 7-6Rahim Esmail, UK def. Kareem Bennett, Florida A&M       7-5, 6-4Gustov Pousette, UK def. Razvan Ilie, Tenn. Tech        6-2, 7-5Jorge Ascencio, Tenn. Tech def. Elliott Datlow, UK      2-6, 6-2, 6-2

Round ThreeBrandon Wagner, Georgia def. Jesse Witten, UK 6-4, 0-6, 6-2Stephen Moore, Georgia Tech def. Rahim Esmail, UK 6-3, 6-4Trent Brendon, Wake Forest def. Gustav Pousette, UK 6-4, 4-6, 6-0