June 7, 2010
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After gathering a school-record 25 wins and posting a No. 12 ranking to end the season, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team finished off its impressive year in the International Tennis Association rankings with high marks in singles and doubles, according to rankings released Monday.
Sophomore Eric Quigley notched the highest listing, finishing at No. 10 in the singles rankings. Fellow sophomore Alex Musialek also finished with a solid ranking, ending the season at No. 48 in singles.
Quigley, a native of Pewee Valley, Ky., ended the dual-match season with a 21-6 record, including a 20-6 record at No. 1 singles. Combined with his tournament record, Quigley won an impressive 42 matches for the Wildcats during the 2009-10 season, just one shy of former Wildcat Jesse Witten’s record 43 wins. Quigley becomes the first sophomore in school history to earn All-America accolades in both singles and doubles play in the same season. Quigley received several other awards this season, including being named to the 2010 All-Southeastern Conference first team and the ITA Ohio Valley Region Player to Watch. Quigley finished the season with a 6-2 mark against top-25 players.
Musialek, who moved up one spot to No. 48, also played brilliant tennis for Kentucky this season, going 20-7 with a 17-7 mark at No. 2 singles. Musialek, who was named to the All-SEC second team, posted eight wins against SEC foes this season, which ties fellow teammate Alberto Gonzalez for the most on the team. The native of Dax, France, qualified for the NCAA Singles Championships, giving UK two singles players in the championship for the first time since 2000. The Frenchman defeated the No. 2 and No. 3 ranked players in college tennis this season when he defeated No. 2 J.P. Smith of Tennessee at the Crimson Tide Fall Championships last fall and No. 3 Michael Shabaz of highly ranked Virginia in dual match play.
UK also has its top two doubles tandems in the rankings, with Quigley and junior Brad Cox ending the season at No. 17 and senior Alex Lambropoulos and Gonzalez finishing at No. 68. Quigley and Cox had an impressive run in the NCAA Doubles Championship, advancing to the quarterfinals before falling to the eventual doubles finalist. The doubles tandem ended the season 16-9 in dual matches and 25-14 overall. Cox qualified for the NCAA Doubles Championship for the third straight year, becoming the first player in UK history to claim that distinction. Quigley and Cox make a final jump of five spots up the rankings to end the season in the top 20.
Gonzalez and Lambropoulos were solid all year for UK at the No. 2 doubles position, holding a 12-12 dual match record with seven wins in SEC play. Gonzalez and Lambropoulos moved up four spots in the final rankings to end the season in the top 70. The doubles duo defeated four top-50 ranked teams, ending the season with an overall record of 14-13.
Stay tuned to UKathletics.com for the most up-to-date information on the UK men’s tennis team.
