Sept. 21, 2008
ATHENS, Ga. – University of Kentucky men’s tennis player Bruno Agostinelli advanced to the quarterfinals of both the singles and doubles brackets after the second full day of play at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships by the University of Georgia, at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens Ga., Saturday.
Agostinelli, the tournament’s No. 2 singles seed, opened the morning with a double bagel – beating Morgan Richard of Middle Tennessee 6-0, 6-0 to advance to the round of 16. The senior met Georgia’s Drake Bernstein next on the Bulldog’s home court. Agostinelli who ranks 19th in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) pre-season top-125 singles rankings defeated Bernstein in straight sets 6-4, 6-1 to set up a meeting with another Bulldog, No. 9 seed Javier Garrapiz ranked 71st nationally on Sunday.
Agostinelli and doubles partner, sophomore Brad Cox, are the top seed overall in the division I doubles bracket. Together they rank 15th nationally in the ITA pre-season top 50 doubles rankings. In the pair’s round-of-16 match, the Wildcats overwhelmed their opponents Siqueria and Pickham from Georgia College and State University, 8-1 to advance to the quarterfinals Sunday. The duo faces Georgia Tech’s King and Gomez to advance to the semifinals on Monday.
Cox also met Siqueria in singles play handling him with ease 6-1, 6-2 to move on to the round of 16. Cox then faced No. 6 seed Reid Carleton of Duke ranked 39th nationally. In the opening set, Carleton edged the sophomore 6-4. But Cox fought back to take the second set at 6-3. The decisive set went back and forth and ended in a tiebreak, with Carleton clinching the win 7-5 in the breaker.
UK freshman Alex Musialek faced Bo Ladyman of Furman in the round of 32, Saturday in a match that went the distance. Ladyman took the first set 6-4 before Musialek battled to take the second set 6-3 to even the match. But Ladyman was too much for the Wildcat in the third earning a 6-3 decision.
Georgia’s Southern Intercollegiate Championships is entering its 41st year as the South’s oldest recurring tournament. The Championships are comprised of three singles divisions and two doubles divisions. The top two singles divisions play a 64-man draw, while the third division features a 60-man bracket. This year the tourney features 179 players from 32 schools. Play runs throughout this weekend in all of the draws with the finals contested on Monday.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for recaps of weekend tournament action.
