Oct. 19, 2012

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Behind singles wins from Beck Pennington, Ryuji Hirooka and Kevin Lai, the University of Kentucky men’s tennis team found great successes at the opening day of the 2012 Intercollegiate Tennis Association Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships in Memphis, Tenn., on Friday afternoon. In addition, UK had two doubles teams win two matches, and qualify for the quarterfinal round to be contested Saturday.

In singles competition, Pennington got the day off to a good start, posting a 7-6, 6-3 win over Jorge Varon of Eastern Tennessee State. The freshman from Bowling Green, Ky., got a straight-set win, and was one of thee Wildcats to record a first-round win. In addition, Hirooka got a straight-set win with a 7-5, 6-2 win over David Salazar of Lipscomb, while Lai tallied a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Henrique Norbaito of Belmont.

Anthony Rossi, Tom Jomby, Panav Jha and Grant Roberts all received byes into the second round by virtue of being a seeded player.

Also in singles action Friday, Juan Pablo Murra completed in a tight match, falling 6-4, 6-3 in two sets to Xavier’s Mesa Mei.

UK was busy in doubles action as the Wildcats have two teams that have reached the quarterfinals. Hirooka and Pennington picked up two wins on Friday, including an 8-0 win over Claesson/Mussolini of Belmont. In their second round match, the duo collected a win over the No. 9 seed Jami Clark and Max McLean. The win puts them in the quarterfinals, joining fellow Wildcats, in Jomby and Lai.

Jomby and Lai will face fellow UK team members Hirooka/Pennington in a quarterfinal match tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. CT. 

Jomby and Lai tag teamed to a 8-4 defeat of Renato Antun and Henrique Norbaito of Belmont. Jomby and Lai would mark their spot in the quarterfinal round with a 8-5 win over Brandon Fickey and Taytor Patrick of fellow Southeastern Conference team, Tennessee.

Also in doubles action on Friday, the No. 9 seeded team of Rossi/Roberts collected a win over Thomas Gans and Deon Shafer in the second round of play. Rossi and Roberts fell to the No. 1 seed in the overall draw 8-3 in the round of 32. The team of Jha and Murra fell 9-7 in an extremely tight match against Alex Gornet and Albert Wagner of in-state foe Lousiville.

Live stats of the event, results and schedules can be found at gotigersgo.com, the online home of the Memphis Tigers, who are serving as hosts of the event.

UK Results of Play – (Friday, October 19, 2012)

Singles First Round:

Beck Pennington (UK) def. Jorge Varon (ETSU) 7-6, 6-3

Ryuji Hirooka (UK) def. David Salazar (Lipscomb) 7-5, 6-2

Kevin Lai (UK) def. Henrique Norbaito (Belmont) 7-5, 6-4

Mesa Mai (Xavier) def. Juan Pablo Murra (UK) 6-4, 6-3

Doubles First & Second Rounds:

Roberts/Rossi (UK) def. Gans/Shafer (IUPUI) 8-3

Collins/Libietis (Tennessee) def. Roberts/Rossi (UK) 8-6

Gornet/Wagner (Louisville) def. Jha/Murra (UK) 9-7

Hirooka/Pennington (UK) def. Classeon/Mussolini (Belmont) 8-0

Hirooka/Pennington (UK) def. Elliott/Morrison (Ball State) 8-6

Hirooka/Pennington (UK) def. Clark/Joblin (WSU) 8-5

Jomby/Lai (UK) def. Antun/Norbaito (Belmont) 8-6

Jomby/Lai (UK) def. Fickey/Patrick (Tennessee) 8-4

UK Schedule of Play – (Saturday, October 20, 2012)

Singles Second Round:

9:30 a.m. ET – (1) Rossi (UK) vs. Barroetavena (UT Chattanooga)

9:30 a.m. ET – (17) Roberts (UK) vs. Moe (Xavier)

10:30 a.m. ET – (5) Jha (UK) vs. Koross (Dayton)

11:00 a.m. ET – Pennington (UK) vs. Davis (MTSU)

11:00 a.m. ET – Hirooka (UK) vs. Glennon (Tennessee)

12 Noon ET – (4) Jomby vs. Albertin (Ball State)

Doubles Quarterfinals:

10:00 a.m. ET – Hirooka/Pennington (UK) vs. (4) Jomby/Lai (UK)

For continuing coverage of UK men’s tennis, log on to UKathletics.com.