LEXINGTON, Ky. ? The pattern to the dual match started out the same for the University of Kentucky men?s tennis team but the result was dramatically different Saturday as the No. 47 Wildcats defeated No. 51 Harvard 4-3.
One point decided the match for the fourth-consecutive contest against a ranked team for the Cats. The UK freshmen came up big in singles play to secure the win, going 3-0 on the day. The Crimson fall to 2-1 after the loss and the Wildcats improve to 5-3.
The doubles point slipped away from the Blue and White for the fourth-straight match. The No. 21 Wildcat team of junior Bruno Agostinelli and freshman Brad Cox fell in another tight match to No. 14 Ashwin Kumar and Sasha Ermakov of Harvard 9-8. Meanwhile, the UK No. 2 and No. 3 doubles squads both lost 8-6, respectively.
Senior captain Marcus Sundh got back on track with a 7-6, 6-2 defeat of Harvard?s Sasha Ermakov at the No. 3 singles slot.
?I thought Sundh played well tonight,? said UK head coach Dennis Emery, ?and our freshmen came through at four, five and six in some tight three-set matches to give us the win.?
Freshman Brad Cox continued his strong play this season with a straight-set victory over Crimson Dan Nguyen 6-4, 7-6 at the No. 4 spot. Classmate Will Beck battled through three sets with Harvard?s Will Guzick 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 to take a point at No. 6. Rookie Alberto Gonzalez tempted his fate in yet another three-set thriller in the No. 5 position.
Gonzalez dropped the first set against Aba Omodele-Lucien of Harvard with one game to show, 6-1. However, the Bradenton, Fla., native fought back to win the second set 6-4 and even the match. In the third set the players battled to extra games and eventually a third-set tiebreak. Gonzalez found himself down match point on his opponent?s serve but saved the point to break Omodele-Lucien. The Cat finally clinched his match and the winning point for Kentucky by winning the tiebreaker 9-7.
With the Wildcat victory secured, the No. 1 and No. 2 matches played on through three sets each. No. 31 Agostinelli fell to Harvard?s Chris Clayton 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, while senior Will Ward came up short at the No. 2 slot, losing 6-4, 6-7, 6-1 to Crimson Ashwin Kumar.
The Cats return home to face Tennessee on Monday in a rare non-conference match-up in Lexington. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. ET at the Boone Tennis Complex. Highlights of the match will be taped by cameras from the Tennis Channel to air on a delayed basis for its program ?Inside Tennis with the Koz.?
Please visit UKathletics.com for live stats and a full recap of Monday?s match with Tennessee.
No. 47 Kentucky 4, No. 51 Harvard 3
Doubles
1. #14 Ashwin Kumar/Sasha Ermakov (HU) def. #21 Bruno Agostinelli/Brad Cox (UK) 9-8
2. Dan Nguyen/Aba Omodele-Lucien (HU) def. Marcus Sundh/Will Ward (UK) 8-6
3. Chris Clayton/Alexei Chijoff-Evans (HU) def. Will Beck/Alex Lambropoulos (UK) 8-6
Singles
1. Chris Clayton (HU) def. #31 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) 6-4, 5-7, 6-1
2. Ashwin Kumar (HU) def. Will Ward (UK) 6-4, 6-7, 6-1
3. Marcus Sundh (UK) def. Sasha Ermakov (HU) 7-6, 6-2
4. Brad Cox (UK) def. Dan Nguyen (HU) 6-4, 7-6
5. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Aba Omodele-Lucien (HU) 1-6, 6-4, 7-6(7)
6. Will Beck (UK) def. Will Guzick (HU) 6-3, 5-7, 6-4
