FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. ? After an early-morning weather delay and waiting for the early match to complete, the University of Kentucky men?s tennis team could not overcome a determined Ole Miss squad losing 4-0 in the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Championships at the University of Arkansas? Billingsley Tennis Center Friday afternoon.
In doubles play, the No. 43 Wildcats pushed the sixth-ranked Rebels on all three courts. At No. 2 doubles, the team of freshman Will Beck and junior Shane Collins were edged by the Ole Miss pairing of Robbye Poole and Matthias Wellerman 8-6. On court three, Ole Miss? Tucker Vorster and Jakob Klaeson defeated senior Marcus Sundh and sophomore Alex Lambropoulos 8-5 to clinch the doubles point. The ranked match-up on court one between the No. 48 UK tandem of freshman Brad Cox and junior Bruno Agostinelli against the No. 6 Ole Miss duo of Erling Tveit and Jonas Berg was suspended with the Rebels leading 6-2.
With the doubles point in hand the Rebels carried their momentum into the singles matches.
A determined Ole Miss squad increased its lead with steady, consistent play on the outer courts. On court four, Berg defeated Beck in straight sets 6-0, 6-3. On court five, UK freshman Alberto Gonzalez was humbled by Ole Miss? Kalle Norberg 6-0, 6-0. Finally at No. 6 singles Ole Miss clinched the match as Klaeson topped Lambropoulos 7-5, 6-2.
Matches at the top-two singles positions looked promising for Kentucky but were suspended after Ole Miss earned its fourth match point.
At No. 1 singles, No. 26 Agostinelli came back from a 5-4 disadvantage against No. 30 Tveit to win the next three games for the first set victory. The Wildcat led 2-1 when the match was called.
Last month against Ole Miss, Cox earned his biggest collegiate singles victory in his young career by defeating a then-No.13 Tveit at the No. 2 slot. Cox was on his way to another big win at the second singles position after taking set one from No. 20 Wellerman 6-4. Wellerman led 4-3 in the second set when the match was suspended.
In the final suspended match, No. 49 Poole led Sundh 5-2 in the second set after taking the first 6-2.
?I thought we did a good job today in singles at the top of our line-up,? UK head coach Dennis Emery said. ?We played well at No. 1 and No. 2 singles but Ole Miss? depth is very good. They are one of the deepest teams in the country. They are very strong throughout their line-up, so losing the doubles point really put us in a hole.
?We feel confident that we have done enough this season to earn an NCAA bid. The selection show is Tuesday the 29th, so we will have to wait and see, but we?re confident.?
With the loss, the Cats fall to 12-15 overall and 4-9 against SEC teams. The Rebels improve to 19-4 this season and 10-2 against the conference. Ole Miss will face No. 8 Tennessee in tomorrow?s tournament semifinals.
Kentucky awaits its post-season fate as the 64-team NCAA tournament selections are announced Tues. Apr. 29 between 2 and 2:30 p.m. ET on ESPNews. Later, the list of individuals selected to the singles and doubles championships will be posted on NCAA.com no later than 6 p.m. ET on Wed. Apr. 30.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the latest updates.
#6 Ole Miss 4, #43 Kentucky 0
Singles
1. #26 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) led #30 Erling Tveit (OM) 7-5, 2-1 susp.
2. Brad Cox (UK) led. #20 Matthias Wellerman (OM) 6-4, 3-4, susp.
3. #49 Robbye Poole (OM) led Marcus Sundh (UK) 6-2, 5-2, susp.
4. Jonas Berg (OM) def. Will Beck (UK) 6-0, 6-3
5. Kalle Norberg (OM) def. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 6-0, 6-0
6. Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Alex Lambropoulos (UK) 7-5, 6-2
Doubles
1. #5 Erling Tveit/Jonas Berg (OM) led #48 Bruno Agostinelli/Brad Cox (UK) 6-2, susp.
2. Robbye Poole/Matthias Wellerman (OM) def. Will Beck/Shane Collins (UK) 8-6
3. Tucker Vorster/Jakob Klaeson (OM) def. Alex Lambropoulos/Marcus Sundh (UK) 8-5
