April 10, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team concluded its regular-season home schedule by dominating play in both singles and doubles en route to a 6-1 win over No. 30 LSU at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on Sunday.
Kentucky (23-7, 7-3 Southeastern Conference) ends its regular-season home schedule with an impressive 16-3 record at the Boone, including an 8-3 mark against teams ranked in the top 75. With the win against top-30 ranked LSU, UK moves to 13-7 this season against teams ranked in the top 50 in the nation.
“I loved the way that our team played in doubles today,” UK head coach Dennis Emery. “I thought that Alejandro Gomez brought a lot of intensity in the doubles point and that translated to the rest of the team. We were down a break at almost every court at one point, but we did a good job of turning the match around. Actually, we did a good job of turning the entire emotional aspect of the match around during doubles and we did it before things started going our way. I was very pleased with that.”
The Wildcats started the match by sweeping all three doubles matches, including No. 64 junior Eric Quigley and senior Brad Cox upsetting No. 10 Sebastian Carlsson and Neal Skupski 9-7 to clinch the doubles point for UK. Senior Alberto Gonzalez and freshman Alejandro Gomez posted the first win in doubles, taking down Olivier Borsos and Julien Gauthier 8-5 at No. 3 doubles. Kentucky swept the doubles point at No. 2 doubles when sophomore Anthony Rossi and junior Alex Musialek took down Roger Anderson and Stefan Szacinski 9-8 (6).
Kentucky won five of the six singles matches, including straight-set wins from No. 51 Musialek and Cox. Cox started the scoring for Kentucky with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Szacinski at No. 3 singles, while Musialek took down No. 82 Skupski 6-2, 7-5 at No. 2 singles to give UK a 3-0 lead in the match.
“Musialek did a good job today all the way around,” Emery said. “He did a good job of coming out and being really prepared in the doubles and very well prepared in singles. I thought that he actually hit the ball better today than he has hit the ball in a while. It was really good to see that type of performance for him against a guy that has played No. 1 singles for them for the last couple of years and has been ranked top 20 in the country in the past.”
Kentucky dropped the first set in singles on four courts but battled back in the second set, winning all six second sets to turn the momentum.
“In singles, we came out again and let the other team jump on us so we had to battle back,” Emery said. “I am not happy with that trend the last two matches, but what I am pleased with is our poise and confidence to not panic when that happened. That is something that coach Cedric Kauffmann has been working on with our team a lot and it is evident this weekend.”
Gonzalez clinched the match for Kentucky with a come-from-behind victory at No. 4 singles. The native of Bradenton, Fla., fell in the opening set 6-3 before bouncing back in the second set with a 6-4 win. In the third set, Gonzalez served brilliantly, earning a 6-2 win to claim the match.
“I am proud of our seniors Alberto and Brad,” Emery said. “They really came through today and all weekend with good play. They did all the things that you would expect your seniors to do, with good leadership and all those things that four-year players should bring to the court.
Rossi gave UK a 5-1 lead at No. 5 singles, defeating Carlsson, who retired once Kentucky clinched the team victory. No. 7 Quigley concluded the scoring for UK with a comeback win at No. 1 singles over Olivier Borsos 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.
“I am really pleased with this win today because LSU is one of the hottest teams in the country,” Emery said. “They got off to a slow start this season but really turned it around to beat a highly ranked Michigan team. They also beat SEC opponents Auburn and Ole Miss and lost to second-ranked Tennessee 4-3. We had a lot respect for them going in this match and I think that helped us to prepare. We all knew how good they were and how hot they have been playing. It was a good win for us to get behind us.
UK returns to action Saturday when they travel to Nashville, Tenn., to face No. 33 Vanderbilt. Live scores form the match will be available at UKathletics.com.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, visit UKathletics.com or follow “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
No. 12 Kentucky 6, No. 30 LSU 1
Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex – Lexington, Ky.
April 10, 2011
Singles
#1 – No. 7 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Olivier Borsos (LSU) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
#2 – No. 51 Alex Musialek (UK) def. No. 82 Neal Skupski (LSU) 6-2, 7-5
#3 – Brad Cox (UK) def. Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 6-2, 6-2
#4 – No. 100 Alberto Gonzalez (UK) def. Mark Bowtell (LSU) 3-6, 6-4, 6-2
#5 – No. 104 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Sebastian Carlsson (LSU) 2-6, 6-3, 5-4 ret.
#6 – Julien Gauthier (LSU) def. Tom Jomby (UK) 7-6 (5), 3-6, 6-1
Doubles
#1 – No. 64 Eric Quigley/Brad Cox (UK) def. No. 10 Sebastian Carlsson/Neal Skupski (LSU) 9-7
#2 – Anthony Rossi/Alex Musialek (UK) def. Roger Anderson/Stefan Szacinski (LSU) 9-8 (6)
#3 – Alberto Gonzlaez/Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Olivier Borsos/Julien Gauthier (LSU) 8-5
Order of finish:
Singles: 3, 2, 6, 4*, 5, 1
Doubles: 3, 1*, 2
