Nov. 3, 2012

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team, led by freshman Juan Pablo Murra and Kevin Lai, and leadership from veteran Tom Jomby, pieced together two upsets of No. 1 overall seeds in day two of action at the 2012 United Stated Tennis Association Clay Court Invitational at Disney in Orlando, Fla.

Murra, who advanced to the quarterfinals with two wins in action Friday afternoon, pulled the upset the No. 1 overall seed in the singles draw, Chris Mengal of Duke University in straight sets 6-3, 6-3 to begin action on Saturday morning. The win propelled Murra into the semifinals of a major tournament for the first time in his young career where he fell to Robert Quiroz of Southern California also by a count of 6-3, 6-3. 

The doubles team of Jomby and Lai continue to be one of the hottest in the country, as the duo won Saturday’s round of 16 match, knocking off the No. 1 overall seeded team of Chris Mengal and Fred Saba of Duke by a tally of 8-5.

The win by Jomby and Lai places them into the semifinals for the second-straight tournament as the duo advanced to the finals of the ITA Regional Indoors two weeks ago. Jomby and Lai will play Southern California’s Roberto Quiroz and Yannick Hanfmann at 8:30 a.m. ET on Sunday morning. The doubles finals are set for 2:00 p.m. ET on Sunday.

Lai also picked up another singles win in the consolation bracket of the gold bracket, knocking off Jorge Blasco of the University of Central Florida 6-3, 6-4.

The final day of the 2012 USTA Clay Court Invitational from the Sunshine State will be Sunday. UK’s doubles duo of Lai and Jomby will be in action at 8:30 a.m. ET in the semifinals, with the finals slated for a 2:00 p.m. ET first serve.

Complete coverage of the event including updated draws and results of both days of competition are available on Seminoles.com, the home of Florida State, who is serving as the hosts for the 2012 USTA Clay Court Invite.

UK Results – Day 2

Singles (Quarterfinals):

Juan Pablo Murra (UK) def. Chris Mengal (Duke) 6-3, 6-3

Singles (Semifinals)

Roberto Quiroz (USC) def. Juan Pablo Murra (UK) 6-3, 6-3 

Doubles (Round of 16):

Tom Jomby/Kevin Lai (UK) def. Chris Mengal/Fred Saba (Duke) 8-5

Gold Bracket Consolation:

Kevin Lai (UK) def. Jorge Blasco (UCF) 6-3, 6-4

Bryan Welnetz (Penn St.) def. Panav Jha (UK) 6-2, 6-3

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