Nov. 4, 2009
2009 ITA National Indoor Championship Men’s Singles Draw
Check out Cat Scratches feature on Quigley by UK blogger Eric Lindsey
NEW HAVEN, CONN. –
Kentucky men’s tennis sophomore Eric Quigley competes against the nation’s top men’s collegiate singles players at the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships at Yale University’s Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center this weekend.
First round action begins Thursday afternoon; eighth-seeded Quigley serves against No. 14 Michael Shabaz of Virginia at 4:30 p.m. ET. Should Quigley win, he would face either No. 24 Dennis Nevolo of Illinois or No. 28 Diego Cubas of South Carolina at noon Friday. Live stats links are available on the UKathletics.com men’s tennis schedule page.
Fourteen of nation’s top-25 players will compete in the four-day championship. The tourney consists of a 32-man draw that includes each of the 12 regional champions as well as the four semifinalists from the ITA All-American Championships among other selections.
No. 70 Quigley earned an automatic bid to the National Indoors after claiming the singles title at the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships inside Indiana University’s Indoor Tennis Center in Bloomington, Ind., last week.
The Pewee Valley, Ky., native joins an exclusive group of former Wildcats who have competed at the National Indoors. Last season Bruno Agostinelli played in the Championships, advancing to the consolation final after dropping a first-round match. In 2004, Jesse Witten became the first UK player to advance to the National Indoor singles final. Additionally, current UK associate head coach Cedric Kauffmann advanced to the 1996 Championship semifinals before bowing out.
UK men’s tennis head coach Dennis Emery believes Quigley has the potential to go deep into the tournament.
“He’s playing better than anybody else in the country right now,” Emery said. “Eric is just playing so overpowering right now. He is playing very, very aggressive. He’s serving huge, he’s returning huge and he’s walking in and massacring balls at the net.”
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for Quigley’s match recaps all weekend.
November 5-8, 2009
New Haven, Conn. (Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center)
Yale University
ITA Indoor National Championship
Quigley’s Competition Schedule
Thursday, November 5th
First Round – vs. Michael Shabaz (UVA), 4:30 p.m. ET
