March 8, 2009
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team finished its longest stretch of matches away from home on a sour note with a 5-2 loss at South Carolina’s Sam Daniel Tennis Center on Sunday.
No. 31 USC (12-1, 2-0 SEC) won the doubles point and took four of six singles matches for the victory to remain undefeated in conference play.
“South Carolina played a really good match at home,” said UK head coach Dennis Emery. “They are 12-1 because they are a great team and played well today.”
UK (8-4, 0-2) won the first doubles match of the day on court three as Wildcat sophomore Alberto Gonzalez and freshman Alex Musialek rolled to an 8-2 win over USC’s Jaime Cuellar and Johannes Pulsfort. The Gamecocks fought back on court two as Pedro Campos and Ivan Cressoni defeated UK freshmen Graeme Dyce and Eric Quigley, 8-5.
Court one became the deciding match pitting No. 20 Bruno Agostinelli and Brad Cox of Kentucky against Gamecocks Diego Cubas and Ivan Machado, ranked No. 64. The Cats went up a break early but USC broke back and used the momentum to carry them to the 8-4 win and the doubles point.
In singles, USC stretched its lead to 2-0 as Campos doubled up Cox on court two, 6-2, 6-2.
On court three, No.99 Quigley continued his solid play with another straight-set win to get the Cats on the scoreboard. Quigley improved to 9-2 on the year after dispatching Cuellar 6-2, 6-3.
Gonzalez faced No. 110 Cressoni on court six. The ranked Gamecock sprinted out to a 6-2 first set win but Gonzalez came back in the second to go up a break at 4-2, but couldn’t hold on. Cressoni made a comeback to push the set into extra games and win the match at 7-5 and increase USC’s lead to 3-1.
The remaining three matches went to a third set.
Dyce notched a 6-2 first set win over Pulsfort on court five, but the Gamecock found his rhythm in the second for a 6-1 victory. In the deciding set, Pulsfort continued his momentum for another 6-1 set win to clinch the match and the team match point for USC.
UK’s Musialek kept his one-loss singles’ record intact with a comeback win on court four. USC’s Machado took the first set at 6-4. Musialek then won the second 6-3 to force a final set. In the third Musialek rolled to victory at 6-0 for the Cats’ second team point.
On court one; No. 2 Agostinelli won the first set, 6-0, over No. 64 Cubas. But the Gamecock settled down in the second for a 6-4 set win. In the deciding set, Cubas came up big again with another 6-4 victory for the upset win and the final margin.
UK returns home to face No. 56 Arkansas on Friday at Boone Tennis Center.
Please visit UKathletics.com for all of the latest Kentucky men’s tennis news.
Sam Daniel Tennis Facility
Columbia, S.C.
#31 South Carolina 5, #11 Kentucky 2
Singles
1. #64 Diego Cubas (USC) def. #2 Bruno Agostinelli 0-6, 6-4, 6-4
2. Pedro Campos (USC) def. Brad Cox (UK) 6-2, 6-2
3. #99 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Jaime Cuellar (UK) 6-2, 6-3
4. Alex Musialek (UK) def. Ivan Machado (USC) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0
5. Johannes Pulsfort (USC) def. Graeme Dyce (UK) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1
6. #110 Ivan Cressoni (USC) def. Alberto Gonzalez (UK) 6-2, 7-5
Order of Finish: 2, 3, 6, 5, 4, 1
Doubles
1. #64 Diego Cubas / Ivan Machado (USC) def. #20 Bruno Agostinelli / Brad Cox (UK) 8-4
2. Pedro Campos / Ivan Cressoni (USC) def. Eric Quigley / Graeme Dyce (UK) 8-5
3. Alex Musialek / Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Jaime Cuellar / Johannes Pulsfort (USC) 8-2
Order of Finish: 3, 2, 1
