Auburn, Ala. ? Reigning Southeastern Conference Player of the Week Alex Hume set a new career-high with his 10th straight victory as the 39th-ranked Kentucky men?s tennis team recorded its first SEC win of the season Friday at No. 40 Auburn. With the victory, the Cats upped their season record to 6-3.
?This is a really good win for our team,? head coach Dennis Emery said. ?We always get a great match from Auburn and today was a dog fight as usual. They (Auburn) always are well coached and have great players. Today was no exception and I?m proud of the way we competed.?
UK got off to a quick 1-0 start in the match by clinching the doubles point. Playing at the No. 1 spot, seniors Hume and Nate Emge soundly defeated the Tigers’ team of Terence Nugent and Alex Schweizer 8-4. The duo of junior Greg Johnstone and sophomore Marcus Sundh clinched the point for UK with an 8-5 win over Auburn?s 57th-ranked team of Robbert Lathouwers and Lukas Marsoun.
Playing at the No. 2 spot, Hume, a native of Alexandria, Va., swept the 83rd-ranked Lathouwers 7-5, 7-6, for his career-best 10th straight victory. Lahouwers was 11-1 entering the match and was a semifinalist at the SEC Indoor Championships in January. The win was Hume?s fifth of the year against a ranked opponent and 22nd on the season.
Hume was just one of four Wildcats who shined Friday during singles action.
Sophomore Sundh was the first Cat to notch a singles win. The Stockholm, Sweden, native, swept Auburn?s Marsoun 6-3, 6-4.
Senior Carey Rubin tallied his fifth win in his last six singles matches when he defeated in three sets the Tigers? Milan Krnjetin. Rubin jumped ahead by taking the first set 6-2 before dropping the second 7-5. The Canton, Ohio, native finished Krnjetin off in the third set 6-2 for the victory.
The Cats clinched the match when freshman Bruno Agostinelli defeated Alex Schweizer in three sets at the No. 1 spot in the lineup. After winning the first set 7-6, the 63rd-ranked Agostinelli fell in the second 6-2. Agostinelli rebounded to take the match in the third with a 6-4 clinching score.
?Bruno (Agostinelli) had a great win today against Auburn?s top player,? Emery said. ?Bruno never quit and is a great representative of a student-athlete at the University Kentucky.?
Kentucky has begun the year fighting through various injuries a lot like last season. Coach Emery believes his team has turned the corner and this match will be looked back on as a great turning point.
“With all the injuries we have had, today’s match had a similar feel to last year’s season-turning upset over No. 2 Illinois where we got back to full strength,” Emery said.
The Cats will continue their road swing on Sunday when they head to Tuscaloosa, Ala., to take on the Crimson Tide at 2 p.m. EST. Fans can check ukathletics.com for a complete recap following the match.
Singles
No. 63 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Alex Schweizer (AU) 7-6 (2), 2-6, 6-4
No. 100 Alex Hume (UK) def. No. 83 Robbert Lathouwers (AU) 7-5, 7-6 (10-8)
Nick Lane (AU) def. Nate Emge (UK) 6-1, 6-3
Carey Rubin (UK) def. Milan Krnjetin (AU) 6-2, 5-7, 6-2
Pawel Dilaj (AU) def. Greg Johnstone (UK) 6-0, 6-4
Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Lukas Marsoun (AU) 6-3, 6-4
Order of Finish: 5, 3, 6, 4, 1, 2
Doubles
Hume/Emge (UK) def. Terence Nugent/Schweizer (AU) 8-4
Johnstone/Sundh (UK) def. No. 57 Lathouwers/Marsoun (AU) 8-5
Dilaj/Krnjetin (AU) def. Agostinelli/Kenny Hodge (UK) 8-6
Order of Finish: 1, 2, 3
