April 13, 2002
The 16th-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team ended its regular season by upsetting No. 7 Notre Dame on Saturday, April 13, at the Courtney Tennis Center in Notre Dame, Ind. The 4-1 win over the Fighting Irish marks the Wildcats (18-8, 6-5SEC) fourth victory in four days after facing tough times mid-season. UK had dropped five of its last six matches before grabbing wins on April 10 over Bowling Green and Eastern Kentucky and on April 12 when they finished the Southeastern Conference season with a win over Vanderbilt.
Kentucky took a 1-0 lead grabbing victories at the bottom two doubles matches. After dropping on the first court, Rahim Esmail and Jesse Witten took an 8-4 win at No. 3. Seniors Gustav Pousette and Johan Grunditz clinched the doubles point with an 8-5 victory on the second court.
After winning five first sets in singles action, Kentucky went on to register straight-set wins in three of the first four matches. Karim Benmansour, nationally ranked 59th, tallied the first singles victory with a 6-2, 6-2 win over No. 87 Casey Smith. Pousette gave UK the 3-0 lead with his victory on the fourth court before Notre Dame rallied back with a victory at No. 6 over Rahim Esmail. On the first court, No. 8 Jesse Witten sealed Kentucky’s victory with a powerful win over No. 18 Javier Taborga, suspending action at No. 3 and No. 5.
The Irish and the Wildcats met for the 23rd time overall and the 10th consecutive season. The Irish lead the series 12-10-1 but since under Coach Bob Bayliss are 5-7 against UK. Notre Dame had defeated the Wildcats the past two seasons.
“This victory means so much to this team right now,” Coach Dennis Emery said. ” We played so well at the beginning of the season and I think since being ranked No. 4, our guys played a little too defensively. We have played with so much more intensity in our past four matches that we are back to the point where we are trying to win instead of trying not to lose.”
Kentucky ends the regular season with its most wins since the 1997 season (20) and looks to improve past that in the SEC Championships. UK won the SEC title in 1992 when they finished the year with 24 victories and saw its highest national ranking at No. 3. This year’s tournament will be hosted by the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn., April 18-21.
AGATE:
Singles
No. 1#8 Jesse Witten (UK) def. #18 Javier Taborga (ND)6-3,6-4
No. 2#59 Karim Benmansour (UK) def. #87 Casey Smith (ND)6-2,6-2
No. 3Evan Austin (UK) vs. Aaron Talarico (ND)SUS.
No. 4#84 Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Luis Haddock-Morales (ND)6-3,6-2
No. 5#94 Johan Grunditz (UK) vs. #79 Matthew Scott (ND)SUS.
No. 6Andrew Laflin (ND) def. Rahim Esmail (UK)6-1,6-3
Doubles
No. 1#4 Smith/Taborga (ND) def. Austin/Benmansour (UK)8-2
No. 2Grunditz/Pousette (UK) def. Malhame/Talarico (ND)8-5
No. 3Esmail/Witten (UK) def. D’Amico/Raju (ND)8-5
