March 16, 2003

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The UK men’s tennis team delivered a big win Sunday as the Wildcats knocked out No. 14 South Carolina, 4-3. Kentucky took the doubles point and split the six singles matches to ensure the victory. The Cats improve to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in the SEC.

Rahim Esmail and Jesse Witten started things off for Kentucky with a win at No. 2 over USC’s Ben Atkinson and Seth Rose, 8-3. Karim Benmansour and Matt Emery then clinched the doubles point with an 8-6 win at No. 1 over Marcus Westman and Tom Eklund.

UK’s Evan Austin put the Cats up 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over 59th-ranked Angelo Niculescu. The loss was Niculescu’s first in dual-match play. Benmansour, soon thereafter, would put away Marcus Westman at No. 3 by a 6-1, 6-1 count. The Cats would later get a victory at No. 4 from Rahim Esmail to seal the win.

UK Associate Head Coach Greg Van Emburgh was encouraged by today’s results.

“We are thrilled with the victory today. We saw today the kind of Kentucky team we’ve been waiting for. Our guys showed a lot of emotion and character, and a win like this will pay off for us later on,” Van Emburgh said.

The Wildcats will take a few days off before heading to the Magnolia State next weekend for a pair of battles against Ole Miss and Mississippi State.

AGATE:

Doubles1.Karim Benmansour/Matt Emery (UK) def. Marcus Westma/Tom Eklund (USC)8-62.Rahim Esmail/Jesse Witten (UK) def. Ben Atkinson/Seth Rose (USC)8-33.Alex Hume/Evan Austin (UK) def. Geraldo Knorr/Angelo Niculescu (USC)8-6

Singles1.Seth Rose (USC) def. Jesse Witten (UK)6-3, 7-62.Evan Austin (UK) def. Angelo Nicolescu (USC)6-1, 6-03.Karim Benmansour (UK) def. Marcus Westman (USC)6-1, 6-14.Tom Eklund (USC) def. Matt Emery (UK)4-6, 7-5, 1-0 (tiebreaker)5.Rahim Esmail (UK) def. Ben Atkinson (USC)6-4, 6-46.Geraldo Knorr (USC) def. Alex Hume (UK)6-1, 6-4