Lexington, Ky. ? The 19th-ranked Kentucky men?s tennis team dropped a tightly contested match to No. 49 North Carolina State 4-3 Friday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center.
The Cats (2-2, 0-0 SEC) began the day by claiming the doubles point thanks to the efforts of the No. 40 doubles team of seniors Nate Emge and Alex Hume. Kentucky won its first match when Greg Johnstone and Carey Rubin, playing in the No. 1 spot, defeated the Wolfpack?s Will Shaw and Val Banada 8-5. After N.C. State won at the No. 3 spot, Emge and Hume clinched the doubles point with an 8-4 victory over Nick Cavaday and Chris Welte. The Kentucky duo have won their last six matches.
In singles action, N.C. State won four of six matches to gain its ninth win of season. The Wolfpack claimed victory in the No. 1, 2, 5 and 6 spots. Hume and fellow senior Rubin each notched victories for the Cats. Hume extended his winning streak to five matches by defeating William Noblitt in straight sets 6-4, 6-1. Rubin, a native of Canton, Ohio, dropped his first set to Shaw 6-7, but rebounded to win the match by taking the final two sets 6-4, 6-3.
?N.C. State played a great match, especially after we played really well in doubles,? head coach Dennis Emery said. ?Give them (N.C. State) credit for playing extremely well at the No. 5 and No. 6 spots to win the match.?
The Cats return to action on Sunday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Center when they face No. 71 Purdue and Toledo in a doubleheader. The match against Purdue is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EST with the match against the Rockets set to start at 6 p.m. EST. Fans can check ukathletics.com for live stats and a complete recap of the day?s action.
No. 49 N.C. State def. No. 19 UK 4-3
Doubles
1.Rubin/Johnstone (UK) def. Shaw/Banada (NCSU) – 8-5
2.Hume/Emge (UK) def. Welte/Cavaday (NCSU) – 8-4
3.Noblitt/Weinacker (NCSU) def. Agostinelli/Anderson (UK) – 8-4
Singles
1.Nick Cavaday (NCSU) def. Bruno Agonstinelli (UK) – 6-2, 6-3
2.Andre Irairte (NCSU) def. Nate Emge (UK) – 6-3, 7-6 (6)
3.Alex Hume (UK) def. William Noblitt (NCSU) 6-4, 6-1
4.Carey Rubin (UK) def. Will Shaw (NCSU) – 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-3
5.Jay Weinacker (NCSU) def. Greg Johnstone (UK) – 6-4, 6-1
6.Chris Welte (NCSU) def. Gregory Anderson (UK) – 7-6, 6-0
