Oct. 21, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team concluded a very successful day on the courts by placing five players in the singles main draw round of 16 at the United States Tennis Association/Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships in Knoxville, Tenn., on Friday.
Five Wildcats advanced deep into the tournament during play Friday with seniors Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek, junior Anthony Rossi, and sophomores Tom Jomby and Panav Jha, each earning a spot in the singles main draw round of 16. Kentucky is tied with Tennessee, who is hosting the event, for the most players still active in the singles main draw.
Quigley, who is ranked No. 3 in the nation in singles by the ITA, headlined the day with two straight-set wins. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., took down Rodrigo Amaral of Belmont in the second round 6-1, 6-2 to start the day and then defeated Dimitrije Tasic of Indiana 6-3, 6-1in the third round. Quigley will face Mark Kovacs of Purdue on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET in the round of 16.
Musialek, who is ranked 20th in the nation in singles by the ITA, also performed well on Friday. The native of Dax, France, rolled to a 6-3, 6-1 win in the second round over Hugo Klientovsky of Eastern Kentucky, but had to use a come-from-behind effort in the third round. Musialek’s opponent, Syrym Abdukhailikov of Tennessee Tech, took the first set from the Kentucky senior in a tiebreaker 7-6, but Musialek would fight back and earn a tiebreak win of his own in the second set. Musialek then dominated the third set 6-2 to seal his ticket to the round of 16, where he will face No. 106 Jemery Langer of Indiana at 2 p.m. ET.
Rossi, who is Kentucky’s lone junior, didn’t face a scare in his run to the round of 16 on Friday. Ranked No. 95 in the nation in singles by the ITA, Rossi rolled in the second round by defeating Will Kendall of Indiana 6-2, 6-3 and then advanced past the third round with a 6-1, 6-2 win over David O’Hare of Memphis. The native of Marseille, France, will face Michael Lippens of Louisville in the round of 16 on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. ET.
Kentucky’s fourth player to advance to the round of 16 was Jomby. The native of Nantes, France, began the day Friday with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Richard Canelas of Xavier, before knocking off Isade Juneau of Indiana 6-3, 6-2 in the third round. Jomby’s round of 16 match will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday against Tennessee’s Edward Jones.
Jha is Kentucky’s final player to advance to the round of 16. The native of Pointe Claire, Montreal, knocked off two seeded players on Friday, including Saymon Tatarczyk of Purdue 6-3, 7-5 in the second round. In the third round, Jha squared off against Sebastian Stiefelmeyer of Louisville and posted a three-set victory. Jha dropped the first set 6-3, but answered the call in the second set 6-4 and then won a third-set tiebreaker to claim the victory. Jha will face No. 8-seed Mikelis Libietis of Tennessee on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET.
In consolation singles action, Kentucky sophomore Ryuji Hirooka took down Joao Maio of Eastern Kentucky 6-0, 6-0 and will face Brandon McDonald on Saturday in the second round of the consolation singles bracket. Fellow UK sophomore Maks Gold fell in his consolation match to Andrew Hanley of Dayton 6-2, 4-6, [10-6].
Play at the tournament will continue Saturday with the singles main draw round of 16, singles consolation second and third rounds, and the third round and quarterfinals of the doubles main draw.
Kentucky will have three teams in the doubles main draw round of 16 on Saturday with all three tandems playing at 8:30 a.m. ET. No. 1-seeded Quigley and Musialek, who are ranked No. 19 in the nation in doubles by the ITA, will face the Indiana tandem of Kendall and Tasic, while Gold and Hirooka square off against Zach Ervin and Sam O’Neill of Butler. Gomez and Jha will face No. 6-seeded Libietis and Hunter Reese of Tennessee.
Quigley has claimed back-to-back singles titles at the event after taking down then-No. 1 JP Smith of Tennessee last year and No. 13 Ryan Lipman of Vanderbilt University in 2009. Quigley has been dominate at the tournament the past two seasons, posting a 15-0 record in singles play, dropping only one set.
The winners of the singles and doubles main draw will advance to compete in the 2011 USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships, which will be held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. Nov. 3-6.
Hosted by Columbia University, the USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Indoor Championships features a 32-player singles draw and a 20-team doubles draw. Heading the field are champions from USTA/ITA Division I Regional Championships held across the country in October, winners of the USTA/ITA National Small College “Super Bowl,” and the singles quarterfinalists, doubles finalists and consolation champions from the ITA Men’s All-American Championships.
The USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships was inaugurated in 1978 for the men and 1984 for the women. Past champions and finalists include current professionals John Isner (Georgia), James Blake (Harvard), Somdev Devvarman (Virginia), Irina Falconi (Georgia Tech), Lisa Raymond (Florida) and Bob and Mike Bryan (Stanford).
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter or search “University of Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team” on Facebook.
USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships
Goodfriend Tennis Center/Knoxville Racquet Club – Knoxville, Tenn.
Results/Schedule of Play – All Times Eastern
Thursday, Oct. 20
Singles First Round:
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Robert Salcedo (Dayton) 6-0, 6-0
No. 95 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Ray Leonard (Ball State) 6-1, 6-1
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Elfore Zito (MTSU) 7-6, 6-2
Panav Jha (UK) def. Jose Berardo (Murray State) 6-2, 6-0
Sander Gille (ETSU) def. Maks Gold (UK) 6-4, 6-2
Joe Salisbury (Memphis) def. Ryuji Hirooka (UK) 6-2, 6-2
No. 20 Alex Musialek (UK) def. Michael Lyzwa (Wright State) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles First Round:
Alejandro Gomez/Panav Jha (UK) def. Patrick Bandy/Jimmy Roebker (Xavier) 8-2
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. William Hever/Pawel Poziomski (Purdue) 8-5
Tom Jomby/Anthony Rossi (UK) vs. Cameron Dickerson/Forrest Edwards (MTSU) 8-4
Doubles Second Round:
No. 19 Eric Quigley/Alex Musialek (UK) def. Renato Antun/Rafael Matos (Belmont) 3-3, ret.
Brandon Fickey/Edward Jones (UT) def. Tom Jomby/Anthony Rossi (UK) 8-6
Maks Gold/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Marlon Brand/Ben Davis (MTSU) 8-4
Alejandro Gomez/Panav Jha (UK) def. Jesus Bandres/Sander Gille (ETSU) 8-3
Friday, Oct. 21
Singles Second Round:
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Rodrigo Amaral (Belmont) 6-1, 6-2
No. 20 Alex Musialek (UK) def. Hugo Klientovsky (EKU) 6-3, 6-1
No. 95 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Will Kendall (Indiana) 6-2, 6-3
Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Pawel Poziomski (Purdue) 6-2, 6-2
Tom Jomby (UK) def. Richard Canelas (Xavier) 6-3, 6-3
Panav Jha (UK) def. Saymon Tatarczyk (Purdue) 6-3, 7-5
Singles Third Round:
No. 3 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Dimitrije Tasic (Indiana) 6-3, 6-1
No. 20 Alex Musialek (UK) def. Syrym Abdukhailikov (Tennessee Tech) 6-7, 7-6, 6-2
No. 95 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. David O’Hare (Memphis) 6-1, 6-2
Tom Jomby (UK) def. Isade Juneau (Indiana) 6-3, 6-2
Andrew Carter (Louisville) def. Alejandro Gomez (UK) 6-4, 6-4
Panav Jha (UK) def. Sebastian Stiefelmeyer (Louisville) 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
Singles Consolation:
Andrew Hanley (Dayton) def. Maks Gold (UK) 6-2, 4-6, [10-6]
Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Joao Maio (EKU) 6-0, 6-0
Saturday, Oct. 22
Doubles — 3rd Round
Doubles — Quarterfinals
Singles — Consolation 2nd Round
Singles — 4th Round
Singles — Consolation 3rd Round
Sunday, Oct. 23
Singles — Consolation Quarterfinals
Singles — Quarterfinals
Singles — Consolation Semifinals
Singles — Semifinals
Doubles — Semifinals
Monday, Oct. 24
Singles — Final
Singles — Consolation Final
Doubles — Final
* Matches Thursday-Sunday begin each day at 8:30 a.m. ET. Finals on Monday are set for 10 a.m. ET
