LEXINGTON, Ky.?The No. 56 University of Kentucky men?s tennis team earned two dominating victories in its home doubleheader finale on Wednesday at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. Kentucky took a 5-1 win over Tennessee Tech in the early match, while winning by the same score over Morehead State in the nightcap.
On a surprisingly beautiful evening the Blue and White (12-8, 2-4) made their debut on the outside courts at the Boone Complex in an easy 5-1 win over their state rival Morehead State for their second win of the day. Junior Marcus Sundh paced the Wildcats with a quick 6-1, 6-2 victory over Jacob McLeod to open the scoring.
Freshman Roman Ogarkov added to the lead after taking a two-set win over Tyler Worley, 6-2, 6-0. Sophomore Shane Collins put the home team up 3-0 after a 6-1, 2-6, 6-1 triumph of Dusan Milovanovic. Morehead State earned its lone point at No. 3 singles to bring the score to 3-1, before Kentucky would rally to close out the match with wins at No. 5 and No. 6.
Sophomores Kenny Hodge and Bruno Agostinelli took the matches at five and one, respectively. Hodge overcame a pesky Doug Song, 6-3, 6-4, and Agostinelli defeated former Wildcat Greg Anderson, 6-1, 7-6 (2).
?With our two midweek wins we were able to build momentum for the weekend with Georgia on Friday night,? said Coach Dennis Emery. ?They (Georgia) are clearly the best team in the country.?
In the matinee, Kentucky jumped out to a 3-0 lead with wins by Sundh at No. 2, Agostinelli at No. 1 and freshman Jorge Jorge at No. 3.
Jorge used a three-set win over Mitchell Hubert 6-1, 4-6, 6-4, for his first win of the season in the No. 3 slot. The visitors claimed a point at No. 4 to make the score 3-1.
The home standing team fired back with wins at No. 5 and No. 6 as Hodge and Ogarkov closed out the match.
Agostinelli, Sundh, Hodge, and Ogarkov all earned two victories on the day to pace the Wildcats who prepare for a tough stretch to close out their regular season. On Friday, Kentucky will host the nation?s top ranked team in SEC-foe Georgia to begin a run of seven straight opponents ranked in the top 55 of the country. In addition to the Bulldogs, Kentucky will play two other opponents ranked among the top-10 in the nation.
Friday?s match with Georgia is expected to take place outside at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex weather permitting. First serve is slated for 5 p.m.
#56 Kentucky 5, Tennessee Tech 1
Singles
1. #88 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Borja Zarco (TT) 6-2, 6-1
2. Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Tiago Gilioli (TT) 6-2, 6-1
3. Jorge Jorge (UK) def. Mitchel Hubert (TT) 6-1, 4-6, 6-4
4. Louis Steyn (TT) def. Shane Collins (UK) 7-6 (2), 6-2
5. Kenny Hodge (UK) def. Juan Pablo Gomez (TT) 6-4, 7-6 (3)
6. Roman Ogarkov (UK) def. James Bennett (TT) 6-4, 6-2
Order of Finish: 2, 1, 3, 4, 6, 5
#56 Kentucky 5, Morehead State 1
Singles
1 #88 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Greg Anderson (MSU) 6-1, 7-6 (2)
2 Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Jacob McLeod (MSU) 6-1, 6-2
3 Adam Storti (MSU) def. Jorge Jorge (UK) 6-4, 6-4
4 Shane Collins (UK) def. Dusan Milovanovic (MSU) 6-1, 2-6, 6-1
5 Kenny Hodge (UK) def. Doug Song (MSU) 6-3, 6-4
6 Roman Ogarkov (UK) def. Tyler Worley (MSU) 6-2, 6-0
Order of Finish: 2, 6, 4, 3, 5, 1