March 29, 2015
LEXINGTON, Ky. —
The University of Kentucky men’s tennis team collected a 4-0 win over the No. 60 Alabama Crimson Tide on Sunday afternoon, as the Wildcats collected their first Southeastern Conference win of the season, in shutout fashion at the Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center in Lexington.
Kentucky with the win moves to 10-13 overall on the season, and now sits at 1-7 in the league, with four matches remaining in conference play before the conference tournament. Alabama moves to 13-14 on the season, and sits at 2-7 in SEC play this season.
UK got off to a very strong start in both singles and doubles, as the Wildcats only dropped one set the entire day in both competitions. In doubles, it was Jerry Lopez and Nils Ellefsen combining to win 6-2 on court two, alongside a 6-3 win on court three from UK’s freshman pairing of William Bushamuka and Trey Yates.
Singles was all Kentucky, as the Wildcats took first sets on five of the six singles courts, with the only exception being on court six. Beck Pennington was the first match to finish on the day, as he knocked off Korey Lovett 6-2, 6-1 on court one. Pennington was solid all day, never losing his serve the entire afternoon, and jumping out to 3-0 leads in both of the sets played.
The win by Pennington made it a 2-0 lead for the Wildcats, as William Bushamuka was then able to make it 3-0 as he knocked off Becker O’Shaughnessey on court three, 6-1, 6-3 in straight sets.
Sophomore Jerry Lopez clinched the match for the Wildcats on court two, as he won 6-3, 6-1 over Nikko Madregallejo. Lopez, just like Pennington, never dropped serve the entire match, and cruised to a straight-sets win and capping off the 4-0 win for the Wildcats.
Kentucky is next in action on Thursday, April 2, as the Wildcats travel to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks at 3 p.m. ET in Fayetteville.
Kentucky 4, No. 60 Alabama 0
Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Center — Lexington, Ky.
Sunday, March 29, 2015
Team Records: Kentucky: 10-13, 1-7 SEC; Alabama: 13-14, 2-7 SEC
Doubles: (Order of finish: 2, 3*)
1- Beck Pennington/Kevin Lai (UK) led Korey Lovett/Becker O’Shaughnessey (UA) 6-5
2- Jerry Lopez/Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Stuart Kenyon/Sean Donohue (UA) 6-2
3- William Bushamuka/Trey Yates (UK) def. Sam Edwards/Nikko Madregallejo (UA) 6-3
Singles: (Order of finish: 1, 3, 2*)
1- Beck Pennington (UK) def. Korey Lovett (UA) 6-2, 6-1
2- Jerry Lopez (UK) def. Nikko Madregallejo (UA) 6-3, 6-1
3- William Bushamuka (UK) def. Becker O’Shaughnessey (UA) 6-1, 6-3
4- Trey Yates (UK) led Danny Kerznerman (UA) 6-3, 5-3 (DNF)
5- Nils Ellefsen (UK) led Stuart Kenyon (UA) 7-6 (1), 1-3 (DNF)
6- Sam Edwards (UA) led Jake Stefanik (UK) 7-6 (5), 0-1 (DNF)
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow “UKMensTennis” on Twitter or “University of Kentucky men’s tennis team” on Facebook.
