Senior Jesse Witten led a group of four Wildcats into the round of 32 at the SEC Indoor Championships Friday in New Orleans, La.
The top-seeded Witten, ranked third in the nation by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA), defeated LSU?s Paul White by a 6-2, 6-2 count to move on to the round of 32, where he?ll be joined by fellow Wildcats Jason Mallaiah, Alex Hume and Matt Emery. Mallaiah, a sophomore from Orlando, Fla., scored a 6-3, 6-3 win over Georgia?s Colin Purcell to advance. Hume added a 6-2, 6-1 victory over Tennessee?s Kaden Hensel, and Emery contributed a 6-4, 6-3 win over Mississippi State?s Arnaud Roussel.
Witten teamed up with freshman Marcus Sundh for a doubles victory, while Emery and Hume also added a doubles win.
Junior Nate Emge scored a pair of victories to advance to the quarterfinals of the National Collegiate Tennis Classic at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Indian Wells, Calif. The 119th-ranked Emge set aside Virginia?s Eric Riley by a 6-0, 6-3 count before upsetting UCLA?s 39th-ranked Alberto Francis by a 7-5, 6-3 margin.
AGATE:
SEC Indoors ? New Orleans, La. Singles (3) Jesse Witten (UK) def. Paul White (LSU) ? 6-2, 6-2 Gabor Zoltan Pelva (Auburn) def. Nolan Polley (UK) ? 6-3, 6-2 Jason Mallaiah (UK) def. Colin Purcell (UGA) ? 6-3, 6-3 Jakob Klaeson (Ole Miss) def. Marcus Sundh (UK) ? 3-6, 7-6, 6-3 Alex Hume (UK) def. Kaden Hensel (Tennessee) ? 6-2, 6-1 Matt Emery (UK) def. Arnaud Roussel (Miss. State) ? 6-4, 6-3
Doubles Witten/Sundh (UK) def. Jung/Parker (Arkansas) ? 8-2 Bjelica/Girod (Miss. State) def. Polley/Mallaiah (UK) ? 8-2 Emery/Hume (UK) def. ten Berge/Klaeson (Ole Miss) ? 9-8 (2)
National Collegiate Tennis Classic ? Indian Wells, Calif. Singles ? Round of 32 (108) Tigran Martirosyan (UK) def. Colin O?Grady (Arizona) ? 6-0, 6-0 (120) Nate Emge (UK) def. Eric Riley (UVA) ? 6-0, 6-0 (99)Kris Kwinta (UCLA) def. Carey Rubin (UK) ? 6-3, 6-2
Singles ? Round of 16 (36) Rylan Rizza (UVA) def. (108) Tigran Martirosyan (UK) ? 7-5, 7-5 (120) Nate Emge (UK) def. (39) Alberto Francis (UCLA) ? 7-5, 6-3
