The 10th-ranked University of Kentucky men?s tennis team opened the 2004 dual-match season with shutouts of Appalachian State and Morehead State in a day-night doubleheader Thursday at UK?s Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. The Cats set down the Mountaineers by a 7-0 count in the afternoon and the Eagles in a 6-0 evening decision.
After the Cats swept through doubles play to earn the first point against ASU, UK?s Jesse Witten wasted little time putting the Cats on the board once again, shutting out Andrew Waters in under 40 minutes. Evan Austin and Nate Emge followed suit with quick wins at numbers two and three, respectively, to seal the win. Alex Hume, Rahim Esmail and Matt Allinder each added singles victories.
In the nightcap, the Cats displayed a familiar dominant flair, as Witten once again dispatched his opponent in less than an hour. Emge turned in another solid showing, defeating Danny Arbib by a 6-0, 6-1 count for a 2-0 Kentucky lead. Esmail defeated Jacob McLeod in straight sets, and Austin did the same to Kim Kachel to clinch the second Kentucky win of the day. Hume and Allinder added straight-set victories for the final 6-0 margin.
The Cats move to 2-0 on the season. Kentucky returns to action next Tuesday, Jan. 27 at No. 49 Notre Dame.
Kentucky 7, Appalachian State 0 Doubles 1. Allinder/Emge (UK) def. Dimitrov/Waters (ASU) ? 8-5 2. Esmail/Witten (UK) def. Nius/Stapleton (ASU) ? 8-0 3. Austin/Hume (UK) def. Probst/Shuster (ASU) ? 8-4 Singles 1. No. 16 Jesse Witten (UK) def. Andrew Waters (ASU) ? 6-0, 6-0 2. No. 81 Evan Austin (UK) def. Dimitar Dimitrov (ASU) ? 6-2, 6-2 3. No. 100 Nate Emge (UK) def. Ben Shuster (ASU) ? 6-1, 6-1 4. Alex Hume (UK) def. Alex Probst (ASU) ? 6-1, 6-2 5. Rahim Esmail (UK) def. Jason Nius (ASU) ? 6-0, 6-3 6. Matt Allinder (UK) def. Andrew Taylor (ASU) ? 1-6, 7-5, 1-0 (7) Kentucky 6, Morehead State 0 Singles 1. No. 16 Jesse Witten (UK) def. Greg Johnstone (MSU) ? 6-3, 6-1 2. No. 81 Evan Austin (UK) def. Kim Kachel (MSU) ? 6-4, 6-2 3. Rahim Esmail (UK) def. Jacob McLeod (MSU) ? 6-2, 6-2 4. No. 100 Nate Emge (UK) def. Danny Arbib (MSU) ? 6-0, 6-1 5. Alex Hume (UK) def. Adam Storti (MSU) ? 6-2, 6-0 6. Matt Allinder (UK) def. Louis Orieux (MSU) ? 6-2, 7-5
