Sept. 26, 2011
Photo Gallery | Final Draws | Complete Results (PDF)
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the second consecutive weekend, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team returns from a fall tournament with shiny hardware after sophomore Alejandro Gomez claimed the division II singles title, and sophomores Maks Gold and Ryuji Hirooka won the division II doubles title at the Southern Intercollegiate Championships on Monday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga.
Gomez continued his unblemished start to the fall season by having an excellent run to the singles title this weekend. The sophomore went 6-0 at the event, including a straight-set 6-3, 6-3 win over Austin Powell of North Carolina State in the finals on Monday. The native of Cali, Colombia, is now 10-0 this fall with all 10 wins coming in straight sets.
“Really proud of all of our guys for their performances this weekend,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “Very proud of Alejandro. He had a great tournament and continues to show marked improvement every time out on the court. I think he is making the case as probably one of the most improved players in the country right now from his freshman season to this year. Last year at this time he had just broke his foot and now he is really starting to blossom and mature into a great player.”
Kentucky also had a doubles duo claim a title match Monday with Gold and Hirooka claiming the division II doubles championship. The UK tandem took down Dejon Bivens and Dylan Comerford of Winthrop 8-3 in the finals. This is the first time the two players have teamed up in doubles together, earning a 5-0 mark.
“Doubles is going to be a big key for us this spring season and I loved the intensity that Maks (Gold) and Ryuji (Hirooka) played with this weekend,” Emery said. “They were down three match points in the semifinals, but fought back and claimed the win. Today, they were rewarded for their comeback by performing well in doubles to claim the championship.”
UK senior Eric Quigley, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, made an impressive run to the finals of the division I singles bracket before falling to No. 6 Wil Spencer of Georgia in a tightly contested match 7-6 (6), 6-3. Quigley took down two ranked foes en route to the finals appearance, defeating No. 24 Sadio Doumbia and No. 107 Hernus Pieters both of Georgia.
“It was a great effort and a great tournament for Eric (Quigley) and a terrific start to his senior season. We went into this event wanting him to play a lot of matches and get some good wins against quality competition in order to prepare him for the ITA All-American tournament next week. His match today was a hard-fought one and give credit to (Wil) Spencer from Georgia, who played a great match.”
The Southern Intercollegiate awarded five winners at the event: division I singles title, division II singles title, division III singles title, division I doubles title and division II doubles title. Of those five titles, Kentucky claimed two of them, which is more than any of the 25 other schools at the event. UK was represented in the division I and division II singles finals and in the division II doubles final.
“We continue to preach to our players just how important this fall season is in order for us to develop depth on our roster,” Emery said. “Our sophomore class is a big part of that depth and they did well this weekend with Gomez’ performance, Gold and Hirooka taking the doubles title and Panav Jha winning both his matches in the consolation bracket. They are getting the matches they need this fall to continue to develop their game.”
Kentucky will be in action again, beginning Monday, Oct. 3, when Quigley, fellow senior No. 20 Alex Musialek and junior No. 95 Anthony Rossi participate in the 2011 ITA All-American Championships at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Quigley and Musialek have earned a selection in the singles main draw, while Rossi was selected to participate in the singles qualifying tournament. Along with their selection to the singles main draw, Quigley and Musialek will team up in the event’s doubles main draw as well. The duo is ranked No. 19 in the ITA preseason doubles rankings. Quigley and Musialek have played one collegiate match together as a doubles team.
The Wildcats are one of only 11 schools in the nation to earn two or more selections to the singles main draw and is one of only three Southeastern Conference schools to claim that honor. Main draw selections for singles and doubles are based on national preseason singles and doubles rankings.
A complete list of results from the Southern Intercollegiate Championships can be found below. For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, visit UKathletics.com.
Southern Intercollegiate Championships – Monday, Sept. 26 – UK Results
Division I Singles:
No. 6 Wil Spencer (Georgia) def. No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) 7-6(6), 6-3 – FINALS
Division II Singles:
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Austin Powell (N.C. State) 6-3, 6-3 – FINALS
Division II Doubles:
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Dejon Bivens/Dylan Comerford (Winthrop) 8-3 – FINALS
Southern Intercollegiate Championships – Complete Results
Division I Singles:
No. 6 Wil Spencer (Georgia) def. No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) 7-6(6), 6-3 – FINALS
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Maksim Levanovich (Stetson) 6-4, 7-6 (6)
Lucas Oliveira (Va. Tech) def. No. 95 Anthony Rossi (UK) 6-2, 7-6 (6)
Tom Jomby (UK) def. Thomas Cook (Ga. State) 7-5, 6-4
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. No. 107 Hernus Pieters (Georgia) 6-2, 6-0
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. No. 24 Sadio Doumbia (Georgia) 6-3, 6-4
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. Austin Powell (N.C. State) 6-3, 6-3 – FINALS
Austin Powell (NC State) def. Panav Jha (UK) 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6)
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Ismael Lahlou (Ga. State) 6-1, 6-1
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Jon Pine (Va. Tech) 7-5, 6-0
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Campbell Johnson (Georgia) 7-5, 6-3
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Chris Mark (Davidson) 6-2, 6-2
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Lucas Santana (Ga. State) 7-5, 6-0
Panav Jha (UK) def. Robin Akser (ETSU) 6-2, 6-7, 1-0(10-4) – Consolation singles
Panav Jha (UK) def. Tristan Stayt (Liberty) 6-1, 6-1 – Consolation second round
Division III Singles:
Will Rollinson (N.C. State) def. Matt Davis (UK) 6-2, 6-4
Juan Pablo Ramirez (Minnesota) def. Maks Gold (UK) 6-4, 6-0
Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Stanislav Vaughan (Liberty) 6-2, 7-6 (9)
Daniel Hernandez (Lipscomb) def. Ryuji Hirooka (UK) 6-0, 6-1
Maks Gold (UK) def. Collin Edwards (Ga. Tech) 6-2, 3-6, 6-2
Maks Gold (UK) def. Alex Sajonz (Samford) 6-0, 6-1
Suresh Eswaran (Vanderbilt) def. Matt Davis (UK) 6-4, 6-4
Division I Doubles:
Didrik Berg/Njal Stene (Stetson) def. Anthony Rossi/Tom Jomby (UK) 8-6
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
Anthony Rossi/Tom Jomby (UK) def. Robbie Mudge/Austin Powell (NC State) 8-6
Eric Quigley/Panav Jha (UK) def. Andrew Adams/Nick Jones (South Carolina) 9-7
Division II Doubles:
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Dejon Bivens/Dylan Comerford (Winthrop) 8-3 – FINALS
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Wayne Harrell/Tristan Stayt (Liberty) w/o
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Lucas Lopasso/Rafael Rondino (Auburn) 9-7
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
