Oct. 30, 2008
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s tennis head coach Dennis Emery announced an impressive field Thursday featuring the top two men’s singles players in the country for the 10th-annual Charles Fluitt Invitational hosted by the Wildcats at the Boone Tennis Center this weekend. Admission is free to the public.
This weekend’s No. 1 seed will be Oklahoma State’s Oleksandr Nedovyesov, the top ranked player in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) pre-season singles poll. Additionally, the Fluitt defending champion, Denes Lukacs of Baylor, will be in attendance as the nation’s No. 2 player in the poll and seeded second.
Coming off of his ITA Southeast Regional Final appearance, 19th-ranked Wildcat Bruno Agostinelli will be the tournament’s third seed this year. Last season, the UK senior met Lukacs in a tight two-set final with the Bear edging the Wildcat 7-6(5), 7-5.
“Bruno and Lukacs played a great match in last year’s final,” said Emery, “and I expect the quality of play to be even higher throughout the field this year.”
Kentucky sophomore Brad Cox and freshman Eric Quigley will also participate in the tournament. The Fluitt field features players from several prominent tennis schools including Illinois, Tennessee and Xavier.
This year’s winner of the Fluitt receives a bigger reward than tournament ranking points and NCAA-level impact wins. The champion secures a spot in the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters qualifying draw held next summer in Cincinnati.
“(Western & Southern Financial Group Masters tournament chairman) Paul Flory and (tournament director) Bruce Flory have built the Cincinnati event into the premier summer tournament in the country outside of the U.S. Open,” said Emery. “It consistently has all of the top 40 men’s players in the world participate. Last summer, Denes Lukacs represented college tennis well in Cincinnati and played a very entertaining and close match.”
UK sponsors the Invitational in memory of the late Charles Fluitt who was a victim of the 1996 ValuJet plane crash in south Florida. He was the father of former UK tennis star Marcus Fluitt. In addition to playing an annual tournament in his name, UK tennis honored its fallen friend by dedicating Court No. 4 of the Boone Varsity Tennis Center as Charles Fluitt Memorial Court.
“Charles Fluitt was a great lover of tennis, especially at the collegiate level,” said Emery. “The passion these players demonstrate this weekend while representing their schools and competing for this wildcard is a fitting tribute to his memory.”
All matches are at Boone this weekend and start Saturday with morning sessions at 9:00 a.m. ET and 10:30 a.m. followed by an afternoon schedule of contests at 2:00 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. On Sunday, play begins at 8:30 a.m. followed by matches scheduled at 10:00 a.m. and concluding with the tournament final slated for 1:00 p.m.
For more information on the 2009 Western & Southern Financial Group Masters in Cincinnati, visit Cincytennis.com.
Click on UKathletics.com the latest men’s tennis news and recaps of tournament action this weekend.
