Sept. 25, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky men’s tennis senior Eric Quigley, who is playing in the division I singles bracket, and sophomore Alejandro Gomez, who is playing in the division II singles bracket, each took down two strong opponents on Saturday at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens, Ga., punching their ticket to the quarterfinals of their respective brackets.
Quigley, who is ranked third in the nation in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, started the day with an impressive 6-2, 6-4 win over Leandro Toledo of Minnesota in the second round. In the round of 16, the UK star used a come-from-behind effort against No. 73 James Chaundry of Mississippi State to advance to the quarterfinals. Chaundry claimed the first set over Quigley 6-4, but Quigley answered, winning the second set 6-3 and the third set 7-5 to claim the victory.
The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., advances to face No. 107 Hernus Pieters of Georgia in the quarterfinals Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET. If Quigley wins, he will move on to the semifinals, which will be played at 2 p.m. ET on Sunday afternoon.
Gomez had a dominating day of singles action for Kentucky, winning both matches by straight sets to coast into the quarterfinals. The stellar sophomore started the day by taking down Jon Pine of Virginia Tech 7-5, 6-0, before defeating Campbell Johnson in the round of 16 by a score of 7-5, 6-3. Gomez is a perfect 7-0 this fall and has yet to drop a set this season.
The native of Cali, Colombia, will face Chris Mark of Davidson in the quarterfinals Sunday at 10 a.m. ET. If Gomez wins, he will advance to the semifinals, which are slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Kentucky also had solid performances from several doubles tandems, including junior Anthony Rossi and sophomore Tom Jomby, who earned a place in the division I quarterfinals by taking down No. 24 Nathan Pasha and Pieters of Georgia 8-6. Jomby and Rossi will face Didrik Berg and Njal Stene in the quarterfinals Sunday. The semifinals and finals of the doubles draw will be played Monday.
Sophomores Maks Gold and Ryuji Hirooka teamed up in doubles to advance to the division II quarterfinals by going 2-0 on the day. The duo started with an 8-3 win over Emilio Piriz and Parul Verma of Eastern Kentucky and then took down Michael Wardell and Liam Gomez of Auburn 8-6 in the round of 16. The UK tandem will face Wayne Harrell and Tristan Stayt of Liberty in the quarterfinals on Sunday.
Rossi and sophomore Panav Jha each won a consolation singles match Saturday, while Gomez and senior Matt Davis won their second round doubles match before falling in the round of 16.
A complete list of results can be found below.
Southern Intercollegiate Championships – Friday, Sept. 23 – UK Results
Division I Singles:
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Leandro Toledo (Minnesota) 6-2, 6-4
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. No. 73 James Chaundry (Miss. State) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5
No. 36 Louis Cant (Miss. State) def. Tom Jomby (UK) 6-4, 6-1
No. 95 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Didrik Berg (Stetson) 6-1, 6-0 – Consolation Singles
Division II Singles:
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Jon Pine (Va. Tech) 7-5, 6-0
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Campbell Johnson (Georgia) 7-5, 6-3
Panav Jha (UK) def. Robin Akser (ETSU) 6-2, 6-7, 1-0(10-4) – Consolation Singles
Division III Singles:
Juan Pablo Ramirez (Minnesota) def. Maks Gold (UK) 6-4, 6-0
Division I Doubles:
Anthony Rossi/Tom Jomby (UK) def. No. 24 Nathan Pasha/Hernus Pieters (Georgia) 8-6
Tripper Carleton/Spencer Newman (Florida) def. Panav Jha/Eric Quigley (UK) 8-6
Division II Doubles:
Alejandro Gomez/Matt Davis (UK) def. Carson Kadi/Scott Foster (Samford) 8-2
Andrew Dromsky/Oliver Webb (Ga. Southern) def. Alejandro Gomez/ Matt Davis (UK 9-8 (3)
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Emilio Piriz/Parul Verma (EKU) 8-3
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Michael Wardell/Liam Gomez (Auburn) 8-6
