Nov. 6, 2009
NEW HAVEN, CONN. –
Kentucky men’s tennis sophomore bounced back on day two of the 2009 Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships with a 7-6(9), 7-5 victory over Damian Hume of Collin College in a first-round consolation match at Yale University’s Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center Friday.
No. 70 Quigley battles No. 46 Ed Corrie of Texas in a quarterfinal consolation match at 10:30 a.m. ET Saturday. Should he win, Quigley would face either John Huang of Yale or get a rematch with No. 27 Jordan Rux of Baylor later that afternoon. Quigley defeated Rux 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the ITA All-American Championships last month. A live stats link will be available for Quigley’s match on the UKathletics.com men’s tennis schedule page.
In a tight first set, Quigley and Hume battled to extra games and a tiebreaker to decide the outcome. The Wildcat outlast Hume in a lengthy breaker, taking the tiebreak at 11-9 to clinch the set 7-6. In the second, the opponents again fought to a 5-all tie but Quigley broke Hume’s serve and held to clinch the match at 7-5.
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.
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 joined 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.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for Quigley’s match recaps all weekend.
November 6, 2009
New Haven, Conn. (Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center)
Yale University
ITA Indoor National Championship
Consolation Draw Singles – First Round
#70
Eric Quigley (UK) def. Damian Hume (CC) 7-6(9), 7-5
