LEXINGTON, Ky. ? University of Kentucky men?s tennis player Bruno Agostinelli extended his win streak to six matches in a row with his fifth-consecutive defeat of a ranked player at No. 1 singles Sunday afternoon. Meanwhile freshman Brad Cox earned his biggest win of the year beating the No. 13 player in the land, but it was not enough as the No. 50 Cats fell 5-2 to the No. 7 Rebels of Ole Miss at the Boone Tennis Complex.
No. 48 Agostinelli fell behind a break early in the first set against No. 16 Matthias Wellerman of Ole Miss but fought back to win the last four games to secure the set 7-5. The junior leapt out to an early 5-1 lead in the second set and held for a 6-2 straight-set win over the second-highest ranked opponent he has faced this year. Virginia?s Treat Huey was rated 12th when Agostinelli defeated the Cavalier last month.
Cox played inspired tennis on court two against No. 13 Erling Tveit of Ole Miss. The freshman strung together several good service games as well as breaks of serve to turn in a dominating 6-1 first set. In set two, Tveit settled back into the game and won in extra games 7-5. By the third set, the match was settled so the pair played a tiebreaker which broke Cox?s way for the 1-0 decision.
?We are really pleased with Bruno stepping up and getting another win at No. 1,? UK head coach Dennis Emery said. ?Brad Cox beating the semifinalist in last year?s NCAA Championships is big. Both (Rebels) are ranked among the top-16 in the country, so we played very well at the top of our line-up. We played well all-around but at this point they were just a little too strong for us.?
Completing play outdoors for just the second time this season, the Cats saw its four-match streak of winning the doubles point ended by the Rebels.
Ole Miss swept the doubles matches led by the No. 6 tandem of Tveit and Jonas Berg who defeated Agostinelli and Cox at No. 1 doubles, 8-5. At the No. 2 spot, Ole Miss? Wellerman and Robbye Poole overwhelmed UK freshman Will Beck and junior Shane Collins 8-1. The Rebel team of Tucker Vorster and Jakob Klaeson led UK?s Marcus Sundh and Alex Lambropoulos 5-4 when the match was called after Ole Miss clinched on court one.
Ole Miss went ahead 2-0 after Berg won in straight sets on court four over Beck 6-3, 6-0.
The Rebels earned their third point of the day when Sundh?s second-set comeback fell short against No. 32 Poole 6-2, 6-4.
On court six, Lambropoulos pushed Ole Miss? Klaeson to extra games in the second set but could get over the hump as the Rebel?s 6-3, 7-5 win gave Ole Miss its fourth match victory of the day.
The only full three-set match of the day was on court 5 between UK freshman Alberto Gonzalez and Ole Miss? Kalle Norberg. Norberg rushed out to a 6-0 first set win before Gonzalez found his game in the second to post a 6-2 victory. In the third set, the players battled back and forth but Norberg edged Gonzalez 6-4 for the win.
?Ole Miss is the best team we?ve played,? Emery said. ?They are the deepest and most experienced team we?ve played this year. I thought we played our best match of the season today. (Ole Miss) is a top-four team with a good chance to win the National Championship. They are good everywhere and have no weaknesses. Their doubles is good and their coach has a lot of experience.?
With the win, the Cats fall to 10-10 overall and 3-5 in the SEC while the Rebels improve to 15-4 this season and 6-2 in conference.
Kentucky entertains No. 16 Illinois on Wednesday at Boone Tennis Complex with first serve at 3:00 p.m. ET.
#7 Ole Miss 5, #50 Kentucky 2
Singles
1. #48 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. #16 Matthias Wellerman (OM) 7-5, 6-2
2. Brad Cox (UK) def. #13 Erling Tveit (OM) 6-1, 5-7, 1-0
3. #32 Robbye Poole (OM) def. Marcus Sundh (UK) 6-2, 6-4
4. Jonas Berg (OM) def. Will Beck (UK) 6-3, 6-0
5. Kalle Norberg (OM) tied Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 6-0, 2-6, 6-4
6. Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Alex Lambropoulos (UK) 6-3, 7-5
Doubles
1. #6 Erling Tveit/Jonas Berg (OM) def. Bruno Agostinelli/Brad Cox (UK) 8-5
2. Robbye Poole/Matthias Wellerman (OM) def. Will Beck/Shane Collins (UK) 8-1
3. Tucker Vorster/Jakob Klaeson (OM) led Alex Lambropoulos/Marcus Sundh (UK) 5-4 unfinished
Order of Finish
Doubles: 2, 1
Singles: 4, 3, 6, 1, 5
