Feb. 29, 2012
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The ninth-ranked University of Kentucky men’s tennis team won the doubles point and then claimed four of the six singles matches to earn a convincing 5-2 win over Louisiana-Lafayette on Wednesday in Lafayette, La.
The win over the Ragin Cajuns improves Kentucky’s record to 11-3 as it prepares to begin its difficult Southeastern Conference schedule starting Friday. The Wildcats will start the SEC slate at No. 17 LSU at 4 p.m. ET before traveling to No. 47 Arkansas on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET. A complete preview for the weekend will be posted Thursday on UKathletics.com.
“This was a really hard-fought win,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “We felt coming into today that Louisiana was a top-50 team at the end of the year and they showed that today with how well they played. They had a big, enthusiast crowd and were even better than we thought they would be. Hopefully, this match will help prepare us for this weekend as we open up conference play.”
The match started with the Wildcats taking the doubles point behind wins on all three courts. Junior Anthony Rossi and sophomore Tom Jomby grabbed an 8-5 win at No. 1 doubles over Rick DeGroot and Carlin Murray, while sophomore Grant Roberts and senior Alex Musialek posted an 8-5 win over Brandon Farine and Yanick Mandl at No. 2 doubles. The Wildcats won a close contest at No. 3 doubles when sophomores Ryuji Hirooka and Panav Jha defeated Damian Farinola and Jarred Wynan 9-8 (7-4).
UK continued to perform well in singles action, claiming four of the six singles matches. Musialek, who is ranked 16th in the nation in singles, posted a come-from-behind 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win at No. 1 singles over DeGroot. No. 98 Jomby scored a straight-sets win at No. 3 singles over Mandl 7-5, 6-3, while No. 107 Alejandro Gomez won a three-set thriller 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 at No. 4 singles over Ted Nilsson. Kentucky’s fifth point came at No. 6 singles when Roberts took down Wynan 6-3, 6-4.
Louisiana posted wins at Nos. 2 and 5 singles. Murray defeated Kentucky’s No. 14 Rossi in three sets 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 at court two, while Farinola defeated Jha 6-4, 6-4 at court five.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKmentennis” on Twitter or “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
No. 9 Kentucky 5, Louisiana 2
Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012
Lafayette, La.
Singles competition
1. #16 Musialek, Alex (UK) def. DeGroot, Rick (UL) 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Murray, Carlin (UL) def. #14 Rossi, Anthony (UK) 5-7, 6-4, 6-3
3. #98 Jomby, Tom (UK) def. Mandl, Yanick (UL) 7-5, 6-3
4. #107 Gomez, Alejandro (UK) def. Nilsson, Ted (UL) 2-6, 6-3, 6-4
5. Farinola, Damian (UL) def. Jha, Panav (UK) 6-4, 6-4
6. Roberts, Grant (UK) def. Wynan, Jarred (UL) 6-3, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Rossi, Anthony/Jomby, Tom (UK) def. DeGroot, Rick/Murray, Carlin (UL) 8-5
2. Roberts, Grant/Musialek, Alex (UK) def. Farine, Brandon/Mandl, Yanick (UL) 8-6
3. Hirooka, Ryuji/Jha, Panav (UK) def. Farinola, Damian/Wynan, Jarred (UL) 9-8 (7-4)
