Oct. 9, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After defeating a top-10 ranked singles player for the second time in as many days, University of Kentucky men’s tennis senior Eric Quigley capped off an impressive run in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Men’s All-American Championships singles consolation bracket by claiming the singles consolation title at the Michael D. Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., on Sunday.
Quigley, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation in singles by the ITA, claimed the championship title after taking down No. 10 Sebastian Fanselow of Pepperdine in the singles consolation championship match. The UK senior performed well in the match, dominating the highly ranked Fanselow for a straight-set win 6-3, 6-3.
“From top to bottom I think that this was his best match of the tournament,” UK associate head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “He needed to play very well today in order to beat Sebastian and he did just that. He played great today.”
The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., has played well since falling in the opening round of the singles main draw to No. 42 Alexis Klegou of Texas A&M, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the main draw. Since the setback against Klegou, Quigley won five-consecutive matches, all against opponents that are ranked in the top 40 in the nation in singles, including No. 8 Evan King, No. 10 Fanselow, No. 19 Finn Tearney, No. 25 Luka Somen and No. 36 Louis Cant.
“The consolation draw was just as strong as the main draw was,” Kauffmann said. “Sometimes it is hard when you come here with a goal of winning the main draw and then you lose in the opening round. But he got his strength back and did a great job of powering through. Eric kept fighting and was determined to make the best of it and he did. He played really good tennis towards the end of the tournament.”
The title for Quigley marks the second-consecutive tournament that he has claimed a piece of hardware. Last week, Quigley claimed the runners-up trophy in the singles main draw of the Southern Intercollegiate Championships in Athens, Ga., falling to No. 6 Wil Spencer of Georgia in the finals.
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.
Kentucky will be in action again starting Thursday, Oct. 20, when it travels to Knoxville, Tenn., for the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships.
For the most up-to-date information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, visit UKathletics.com or follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter.
2011 Men’s ITA All-American Championships – Sunday, Oct. 9
Consolation Singles Final
No. 3 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) def. No. 10 Sebastian Fanselow (Pepperdine) 6-3, 6-3
2011 Men’s ITA All-American Championships – Saturday, Oct. 8
Consolation Singles
No. 3 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) def. No. 8 Evan King (Michigan) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
No. 3 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) def. No. 19 Finn Tearney (Pepperdine) 7-6 (4), 6-3
2011 Men’s ITA All-American Championships – Friday, Oct. 7
Consolation Singles
No. 3 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) def. No. 36 Louis Cant (Mississippi State) 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Consolation Doubles
No. 5 Nick Andrews/Christoffer Konigsfeldt (Cal) def. No. 19 Eric Quigley/Alex Musialek (UK) 9-8 (9)
2011 Men’s ITA All-American Championships – Thursday, Oct. 6
Main Draw Singles
No. 42 Alexis Klegou (Texas A&M) def. No. 3 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) 7-6(1), 6-3
No. 18 Jarmere Jenkins (Virginia) def. No. 20 Alex Musialek (Kentucky) 6-4, 6-4
Main Draw Doubles
David Cavalcanti/Matheus Pereira (Wichita State) def. No. 19 Eric Quigley/Alex Musialek (Kentucky) 9-8(7)
Consolation Singles
No. 3 Eric Quigley (Kentucky) def. No. 25 Luka Somen (Virginia Tech) 6-2, 6-2
No. 62 Andre Dome (Cal Poly) def. No. 20 Alex Musialek (Kentucky) 6-4, 6-4
