Aug. 11, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – University of Kentucky men’s tennis senior Eric Quigley continued his strong play this summer in preparation for his senior season with the Kentucky program, performing well in several futures events against tough competition.
Quigley’s latest run was in the USA F22 Futures event in Edwardsville, Ill., when he took full advantage of a wildcard berth in the event. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., won his first match of the main draw by taking down the No. 3 seed Mark Verryth of Australia 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Verryth is currently ranked No. 552 in the world and has a career-high ranking of No. 507 in the world. The win over Verryth advanced Quigley to the second round of the 32-player main draw before the UK star fell to Ohio State standout Chase Buchanan 7-6 (6), 6-3.
Last week, Quigley roared through qualifying at the USA F21 Futures event in Decatur, Ill. Quigley was the No. 15 seed in qualifying and, after receiving a first-round bye, the senior took care of business, defeating Mexico’s Fernando Larrea-Gonzalez in three sets. In the third round, Quigley made light work of fellow American Nelson Vick 6-2, 6-1 before earning one of the eight qualifying spots with a 6-3, 6-3 decision over American Mousheg Hovhannisyan.
In the main draw, Quigley drew sixth-seeded Takanyi Garanganga of Zimbabwe. Quigley would take the first set 6-1 before Garanganga gained momentum and won the second and third sets to claim the match 1-6, 6-1, 6-4. Garanganga is ranked No. 602 in the world.
Quigley had a splendid 2011 season, tying the school record for singles wins with 45. The top-10 ranking and Quigley’s high seed in the NCAA Singles Championship maked him a singles All-America honoree for the second consecutive season. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., is now a three-time All-America recipient after being named a singles and doubles All-American last season. Quigley is only the fifth three-time All-American in school history, joining Rich Benson, Greg van Emburgh, Cedric Kauffmann and Jesse Witten.
Former Wildcats Brad Cox Makes Doubles Run to Finals
Former University of Kentucky men’s tennis standout Brad Cox recently made a very successful and impressive run to the finals of the doubles main draw in the USA F21 Futures event in Decatur, Ill.
Cox teamed up with former Ole Miss All-American Devin Britton in the event. Cox and Britton started the tournament by taking down Keith-Patrick Crowley and Takanyi Garanganga 7-5, 7-6 (5) before defeating Chase Buchanan and Raymond Sarmiento 7-6 (4), 6-7 (6), (10-8) to advance to the semifinals. In the round of four, Cox and Britton used their most dominating performance of the event by knocking out third seeded Boris Nicola Bakalov and Kiryl Harbatsiuk 6-3, 6-4. Cox and Britton fell in the finals to top seeded Jean Andersen and Joshua Zavala 6-4, 6-4.
A two-year captain for Kentucky, Cox recently completed his career at UK in the spring of 2011. Cox is the only player in school history to play in four consecutive NCAA Doubles Championships. The native of Duluth, Ga., ends his career as one of the best doubles players in school history, ranking in the top 30 of the ITA doubles rankings all four seasons and posting over 70 doubles wins.
