Jan. 22, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 7 University of Kentucky men’s tennis team started its 2012 season off on the right note by earning a 6-1 win over No. 53 Michigan State and a 7-0 win over IUPUI to sweep a doubleheader at the Indianapolis Tennis Center in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. The doubleheader was hosted by IUPUI.
Kentucky (2-0) played well in both matches, winning five of its six doubles matches and 11 of its 12 singles matches on the day. It marked the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and either IUPUI or Michigan State.
Senior co-captain Eric Quigley earned two singles wins on the day, moving him into sole possession of second place on UK’s career singles wins list with 143 victories. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., is now only one win shy of tying Paul Varga’s school-record 144 career singles wins. Quigley is 143-44 all-time at Kentucky.
The Wildcats’ first win against a ranked foe this year came by defeating Michigan State 6-1 in the second match of the day. UK took an early lead in the match when it swept all three doubles matches. Sophomore Panav Jha and Quigley started doubles with an 8-5 win over Austin Brooks and Aaron Pfister at No. 1 doubles, while sophomores Alejandro Gomez and Ryuji Hirooka clinched the doubles point at No. 3 doubles with an 8-6 win over Denis Bogatov and Harry Jadun. Frenchmen Tom Jomby and Anthony Rossi completed doubles by defeating Drew Lied and Mat Nelson in a tiebreaker 8-7 (6).
“Our match against Michigan State was a perfect match for us to play from the standpoint that they are a very aggressive team,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “Not only are they a very talented team, but they play with emotion and are aggressive emotionally. We will play a lot of teams like that this year so it is good match for us to start the season with.”
Kentucky, which has more ranked singles players than any other team in the nation, played well in singles action winning five of the six matches against the Spartans. Quigley, who is ranked fifth in the nation in singles by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association, rolled at No. 1 singles, taking down Bogatov in straight sets 6-0, 6-2, while No. 36 Rossi continued his momentum from winning the Southeastern Conference Coaches’ Indoor singles title last week with a 6-4, 6-4 win at No. 2 singles over Ronnie Hulewicz.
UK’s other four rotation spots in singles were filled by sophomores. No. 95 Jomby won a tough match at No. 3 singles over Brooks, 6-3, 6-7, 7-5, while No. 111 Gomez clinched the decisive fourth point of the match at No. 4 singles with a 7-5, 6-2 win over Lied. Sophomore Grant Roberts gave UK a 3-1 lead at No. 6 singles when he took down Will Davis 7-6, 6-1. MSU earned is lone point of the match at No. 5 singles when Gijs Linders defeated No. 85 Jha 6-2, 6-1.
“It was nice to see Anthony (Rossi) play the way he did today,” Emery said. “Coming off that big high of winning the SEC Indoors he could have had a tough time coming back and getting his rhythm, but he played a good match and beat a good player. I feel the same way about Tom, who really fought in his match to win it in three sets. I am just very pleased overall with how we were able to get both wins today.”
The Wildcats started the day with a 7-0 sweep over host IUPUI. UK claimed the doubles point after wins at No. 1 and No. 2 doubles. Sophomores Maks Gold and Roberts finished first with a win at No. 2 doubles, taking down Joel Modesitt and Nick Volz 8-2, while Hirooka and Jha sealed the doubles point with an 8-3 win over Thomas Gans and Patrick O’Neil. IUPUI won a close battle at No. 3 doubles with Armaan Choudhary and Deon Shafer edging out UK senior Matt Davis and freshman Brett Johnson 8-7 (5).
“I thought that the IUPUI match was really good for our team to play,” Emery said. “Unlike in basketball and other sports, we don’t have the luxury to substitute guys in to get experience in the middle of a match or game. We have to bring our more inexperienced players along by committing them to a match up front. I was happy with how those guys played and feel it will really pay off for us later on this season.”
UK claimed all six singles matches, including straight-set wins from five Wildcats. Quigley finished first at No. 1 singles with a dominating 6-0, 6-4 win against Volz, while Gold was impressive at No. 5 singles with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Choudhary. The Wildcats decisive fourth point came at No. 3 singles when Roberts took down Chase Emerson 6-1, 6-2, finishing just before No. 111 Gomez could retire Ivan Mojsejev 6-4, 6-3. Hirooka and Johnson completed singles action with Hirooka taking down Modesitt 6-4, 6-3, while Johnson scored six consecutive points in a 10-point super tiebreaker to claim a 6-1, 1-6, 11-9 win over Deon Shafer.
Kentucky will return to action Tuesday for its home opener. The Wildcats will play host to No. 29 Indiana at 1 p.m. ET and Eastern Kentucky at 7 p.m. ET at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. Admission to all men’s tennis home matches is free of charge. Live results will be available at UKathletics.com.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKmenstennis” on Twitter or “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
No. 7 Kentucky 6, No. 53 Michigan State 1
Indianapolis Tennis Center – Indianapolis, Ind.
Jan. 22, 2012
Singles
#1 – No. 5 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Denis Bogatov (MSU) 6-0, 6-2
#2 – No. 36 Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Ronnie Hulewicz (MSU) 6-4, 6-4
#3 – No. 95 Tom Jomby (UK) def. Austin Brooks (MSU) 6-3, 6-7, 7-5
#4 – No. 111 Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Drew Lied (MSU) 7-5, 6-2
#5 – Gijs Linders (MSU) def. No. 85 Panav Jha (UK) 6-2, 6-1
#6 – Grant Roberts (UK) def. Will Davis (MSU) 7-6, 6-1
Order of finish: 1, 5, 6, 4*, 2, 3
Doubles
#1 – Panav Jha/Eric Quigley (UK) def. Austin Brooks/Aaron Pfister (MSU) 8-5
#2 – Tom Jomby/Anthony Rossi (UK) def. Drew Lied/Mat Nelson (MSU) 8-7 (6)
#3 – Alejandro Gomez/Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Denis Bogatov/Harry Jadun (MSU) 8-6
Order of finish: 1, 3*, 2
No. 7 Kentucky 7, IUPUI 0
Indianapolis Tennis Center – Indianapolis, Ind.
Jan. 22, 2012
Singles
#1 – No. 5 Eric Quigley (UK) def. Nick Volz (IUPUI) 6-0, 6-4
#2 – No. 111 Alejandro Gomez (UK) def. Ivan Mojsejev (IUPUI) 6-4, 6-3
#3 – Grant Roberts (UK) def. Chase Emerson (IUPUI) 6-1, 6-2
#4 – Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. Joel Modesitt (IUPUI) 6-4, 6-3
#5 – Maks Gold (UK) def. Armaan Choudhary (IUPUI) 6-4, 6-1
#6 – Brett Johnson (UK) def. Deon Shafer (IUPUI) 6-1, 1-6, 11-9*
Order of finish: 1, 5, 3*, 2, 4, 6
Doubles
#1 – Ryuji Hirooka/Panav Jha (UK) def. Thomas Gans/Patrick O’Neill (IUPUI) 8-3
#2 – Maks Gold/Grant Roberts (UK) def. Joel Modesitt/Nick Volz (IUPUI) 8-2
#3 – Armaan Choudhary/Deon Shafer (IUPUI) def. Matt Davis/Brett Johnson (UK) 8-7 (5)
Order of finish: 2, 1*, 3
