Jan. 23, 2011

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team kicked off its 2011 spring schedule in fashion, posting three convincing wins against Toledo, Xavier and the University of the Cumberlands at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on Sunday.

“What we wanted to get out of today’s matches was to introduce our freshman to the collegiate dual-match format,” head coach Dennis Emery said. “I think that we accomplished that today. I am happy with the results and look forward to taking the team on the road this week against a quality Indiana squad before we return home for a big weekend here at Boone next weekend.”

Kentucky (3-0) played brilliant tennis in all three matches, winning the lone doubles point of the day and taking 17 of the possible 18 singles points in the three matches. Senior captain Brad Cox was the leader in singles action, posting a win in all three matches, while several other Wildcats went 2-0 on the day.

The three wins for Kentucky improves its home record the past two seasons to a remarkable 31-6.

Kentucky’s next home match is one of the biggest home matches of the season when they play host to No. 22 Wake Forest, No. 29 Wisconsin and No. 43 Boise State in the International Tennis Association Kick-Off Weekend. The event starts Saturday with Wake Forest and Wisconsin squaring off at 10 a.m., while Kentucky takes on Boise State at 2 p.m. The winners from Saturday’s match will then faceoff Sunday for a spot in the National Indoor Championships. Win or lose against Boise State, Kentucky will play at 2 p.m. on Sunday. All times are Eastern.

The Wildcats will continue its 2011 spring schedule Tuesday when they travel to Bloomington, Ind., to face No. 46 Indiana at 1 p.m. ET.

For more information of the Kentucky men’s tennis team visit UKathletics.com.

Kentucky 6, Toledo 1

Kentucky started the day with a 6-1 victory over Toledo (1-1), getting impressive performances in both singles and doubles.

UK claimed all three doubles matches against the Rockets. At No. 1 doubles, Alex Musialek and Anthony Rossi used a come-from-behind effort to take down UT’s Sven Burus and Aleksandar Elezovic 8-6, while at No. 2 doubles Grant Roberts and Alberto Gonzalez played nearly flawless to capture an 8-2 win over Nuttahvit Likitkumchorn and Leo Sarria. Kentucky’s No. 3 doubles team of Alejandro Gomez and Maks Gold clinched the doubles point for UK, grabbing an 8-4 win over Bryant Dudzik and Terence Weigand.

In singles, the Wildcats got wins from Gonzalez, Roberts, Cox, Gold and Ryuji Hirooka. Gonzalez started the winning in singles with a 6-0, 6-2 convincing victory over Sarria, while Roberts was the second singles win for UK when he defeated Burus in straight sets 6-1, 7-5. Cox was the clinching fourth point for Kentucky, taking down Likitkumchorn in a back-and-forth match 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2). Gold got an impressive straight-sets victory over Dudzik 6-3, 6-3, while Hirooka finished the UK scoring in singles with a 7-5, 6-4 win over Gursher Harika at No. 6 singles.

Agate
Jan. 23, 2011
Lexington, Ky. – Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex
No. 12 Kentucky 6, Toledo 1

Singles
#1 – Aleksander Elezovic (UT) def. No. 39 Alex Musialek (UK) 2-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4
#2 – Grant Roberts (UK) def. Sven Burus (UT) 6-1, 7-5
#3 – Brad Cox (UK) def. Nutthavit Likitkumchorn (UT) 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2)
#4 – Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Leo Sarria (UT) 6-0, 6-2
#5 – Maks Gold (UK) def. Bryant Dudzik (UT) 6-3, 6-3
#6 – Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Gursher Harika (UT) 7-5, 6-4

Doubles
#1 – Alex Musialek/Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Sven Burus/Aleksandar Elezovic (UT) 8-6
#2 – Alberto Gonzalez/Grant Roberts (UK) def. Nutthavit Likitkumchorn/Leo Sarria (UT) 8-2
#3 – Alejandro Gomez/Maks Gold (UK) def. Bryant Dudzik/Terence Weigand (UT) 8-4

Order of Finish:
Singles: 4, 2, 3*, 1, 5, 6
Doubles: 2, 3*, 1

Kentucky 6, Xavier 0

Kentucky dominated singles action over Xavier (0-1), taking all six singles matches to grab the 6-0 win. The match had a singles-first format with doubles only being played if necessary.

Alberto Gonzalez started all the scoring again for the Wildcats, posting a convincing 6-2, 6-0 victory over Mesa Mei at No. 4 singles, while fellow senior Brad Cox posted his second singles win of the day soon after, defeating Jimmy Roebker 6-3, 6-1. No. 39 Alex Musialek bounced back after a close loss in the dual-match against Toledo to defeat Bobby Deye of Xavier 6-1, 6-1 at No. 1 singles. UK clinched the match when Anthony Rossi recorded a straight-sets win over Brandon MacDonald 6-3, 6-2 at No. 3 singles.

Grant Roberts and Alejandro Gomez concluded the match by both grabbing wins with Roberts defeating Patrick Bandy 6-2, 6-1 and Gomez taking down Brian Starr 6-2, 6-4.

Agate
Jan. 23, 2011
Lexington, Ky. – Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex
No. 12 Kentucky 6, Xavier 0

Singles
#1 – No. 39 Alex Musialek (UK) def. Bobby Deye (XU) 6-1, 6-1
#2 – Brad Cox (UK) def. Jimmy Roebker (XU) 6-3, 6-1
#3 – Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Brandon MacDonald (XU) 6-3, 6-2
#4 – Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Mesa Mei (XU) 6-2, 6-0
#5 – Grant Roberts (UK) def. Patrick Bandy (XU) 6-2, 6-1
#6 – Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Brian Starr (XU) 6-2, 6-4

Order of Finish:
Singles: 4, 2, 1, 3*, 5, 6

Kentucky 6, University of the Cumberlands 0

Kentucky continued its dominance in singles against the University of the Cumberlands (0-1), winning all six singles matches en route to its second 6-0 victory on the day.

Maks Gold, Brad Cox and Ryuji Hirooka scored the most impressive wins in the match, claiming 6-0, 6-0 decisions. Matt Davis clinched the match for Kentucky with a 6-0, 6-3 win over Guillermo Alvarez, while Alejandro Gomez won his second match of the day with a win over Jerrid Neeley 6-1, 6-1. Chris Leeper finished off the sweep for the Wildcats, claiming a 6-1, 5-0 (retired) victory over Steffan Crowe at No. 6 singles.

Agate
Jan. 23, 2011
Lexington, Ky. – Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex
No. 12 Kentucky 6, University of the Cumberlands 0

Singles
#1 – Maks Gold (UK) def. Oscar Pantoja (UC) 6-0, 6-0
#2 – Matt Davis (UK) def. Guillermo Alvarez (UC) 6-0, 6-3
#3 – Brad Cox (UK) def. David Jueta (UC) 6-0, 6-0
#4 – Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Jerrid Neeley (UC) 6-1, 6-1
#5 – Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Andrew Hill (UC) 6-0, 6-0
#6 – Chris Leeper (UK) def. Steffan Crowe (UC) 6-1, 5-0 ret.

Order of Finish:
Singles: 1, 3, 4, 2*, 5, 6