April 19, 2002
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The ninth-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team upset second seeded No. 5 Ole Miss in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Championship on Friday, April 19. The Cats repeat victories over the Rebels this season after defeating them 5-2 during regular season action. Kentucky now stands at 20-8 on the season, while Ole Miss falls to 17-5 overall.
Kentucky grabbed an early 1-0 lead winning the doubles point, 2-1. The Cats tallied victories on the second and third courts, with seniors Johan Grunditz and Gustav Pousette clinching the opening point at No. 2. The UK tandem defeated Mississippi’s team of Alex Hartman and Claes Lindholm 8-5, while Rahim Esmail and Jesse Witten defeated Catalin Gard and Paul Ciorascu, 8-2.
In singles action, Ole Miss tallied the first point with a win at No.6 over UK’s Esmail. Kentucky quickly came back in the lead when Grunditz captured a strong straight-set, 6-3,6-4, victory at No. 5 over UM’s Paul Ciorascu. The Rebels evened the score once again when 55th-ranked Karim Benmansour dropped a tough match at No. 2 against UM’s No. 65 Kristofer Stahlberg.
Evan Austin spilt the first two sets with UM’s Catalin Gard but would drop the match with a 6-3 loss in the third, putting the Cats down by one. Witten, ranked seventh in the country, survived a long battle against tenth-ranked Hartman for the 7-6,7-6 victory. At 3-3, Pousette once again stepped up for the Cats in a match-deciding thriller. Pousette had a first set victory over UM’s Martin Selin before dropping the second, 6-2. In a third set battle, Pousette was down 3-1 but rallied back to win the set, 7-6, securing the Cats’ victory. Pousette also had the clinching point in UK’s victory over Mississippi State on Thursday, April 18 in the opening round.
The Wildcats continue their bid for an SEC title on Saturday, April 20 at 10 a.m. Kentucky will face Auburn University in semifinal action at the Varsity Courts on the University of Tennessee campus.
AGATE:
Singles
No. 1#7 Jesse Witten (UK) def. #10 Alex Hartman (UM)7-6,7-6
No. 2#65 Kristofer Stahlberg (UM) def. #55 Karim Benmansour (UK)7-6, 6-4
No. 3Catalin Gard (UM) def. Evan Austin (UK)4-6,6-3,6-3
No. 4#98 Gustav Pousette (UK) def. #125 Martin Selin (UM)7-6,2-6,7-6
No. 5#118 Johan Grunditz (UK( def. Paul Ciorascu (UM)6-3,6-4
No. 6Claes Lindholm (UM) def. Rahim Esmail (UK)6-3,6-2
Doubles
No. 1#37 Stahlberg/Selin (UM) def. Austin/Benmansour (UK)8-3
No. 2Grunditz/Pousette (UK) def. Hartman/Lindholm (UM)8-5
No. 3Esmail/Witten (UK) def. Gard/Ciorascu (UM)8-2
