Oct. 5, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. — University of Kentucky men’s tennis seniors Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek are set to compete in both the singles and doubles main draw at 2011 Men’s Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American Championships, beginning Thursday at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla.
Both Quigley, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation in singles, and Musialek, who is ranked No. 20 in the nation in singles, will compete in the singles main draw at the event, while the two will team together to play in the doubles main draw. The duo began the fall season ranked No. 19 in the nation in doubles. Quigley and Musialek have played one collegiate match together as a doubles team.
Quigley, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, will begin his tournament run against No. 42 Alexis Klegou of Texas A&M on Thursday at 9 a.m., while Musialek will face No. 18 Jarmere Jenkins of Virginia in the first round at 11:30 a.m. Quigley and Musialek will battle David Cavalcanti and Matheus Pereira of Wichita State at 7 p.m. All times are Eastern.
Quigley is off to a great start this fall, posting a 5-1 record in singles play, with wins over several ranked opponents. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., is coming off a finals appearance in the Southern Intercollegiate Championships, where he took down two ranked foes in No. 24 Sadio Doumbia and No. 107 Hernus Pieters before falling to No. 6 Wil Spencer in the final.
Musialek has started the fall season off strong as well, earning a 3-1 mark in singles play. The native of Dax, France, performed well in the Olympia Fields Invitational, defeating No. 45 Nick Andrews of California and No. 113 Ben Chen of Texas. Musialek’s only loss on the young season came to No. 7 Dennis Nevolo of Illinois.
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.
Kentucky had a successful run at the ITA All-American Championships in 2010 with Quigley making it all the way to the finals, becoming only the sixth UK player in school history to play in the finals of a collegiate tennis grand slam tournament.
Quigley joined former UK greats Jesse Witten, Carlos Drada, Cedric Kauffmann, Greg Van Emburgh and Rich Benson as the only players in Kentucky’s rich history of tennis to play in the finals of one of the four collegiate grand slam tournaments. Quigley’s run to the championship was a tough one as he had to post five wins over a top-45 ranked player in the tournament.
Musialek also played in the tournament last season, defeating a top-30 ranked player in the opening round before falling to top-15 ranked Marcel Thiemann of Ole Miss in the second round.
Live scores and limited live video will be available online at www.tulsahurricane.com. For complete results from the event, stay tuned to UKathletics.com or follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter.
Schedule of Play – Main Draw
Thursday, Oct. 6 – First and Second Round Singles, First Round Doubles
Friday, Oct. 7 – Third Round Singles, Second Round and Quarterfinal Doubles
Saturday, Oct. 8 – Quarterfinal and Semifinal Singles, Semifinal Doubles
Sunday, Oct. 9 – Championship Matches, Singles and Doubles
