Wildcats Wrap Up FGCU Invite with Strong Results
FORT MEYERS, Fla. –
The Kentucky Wildcats men’s tennis program earned six wins in total, including
a sweep of doubles play, on Sunday afternoon, facing both Florida Gulf Coast and
LSU in the final day of the FGCU Invite.
Weather altered
the course of the day, with the Wildcats fitting in doubles against LSU before roughly
six hours of rain delayed the matches until the late afternoon. With travel
complications, LSU and Memphis left the tournament, leaving FGCU and Kentucky to
compete in singles action.
In doubles,
Kentucky took both matches from Southeastern conference foe LSU. Junior Nils
Ellefsen and senior Kevin Lai toppled Justin Butsch and Simon Freund, 6-2.
Freshmen Ryotaro Matsamura and Enzo Wallart defeated Gabor Csonka and Tam
Trinh, 7-5.
In singles,
Ellefsen and Lai earned wins along with sophomores Jake Stefanik and Gus
Benson. Ellefsen faced Andres Alfonzo, earning a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 win. Lai (6-4, 3-6,
6-3), Stefanik (6-4, 4-6, 6-4) and Benson (7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4) all played
tough matches that went three sets with the respective opponents, each resulting
in Wildcat victories.
The Wildcats will
kick off the dual season on Friday, Jan. 15, hosting both Northern Kentucky and
Eastern Kentucky, beginning at 1 p.m.
Singles
ELLEFSEN, Nils
(Kentucky) def. ALFONZO, Andres (Florida Gulf Coast) 7-6 (7-3), 6-3
VENTURA, Ricky
(Florida Gulf Coast) def. YATES, Trey (Kentucky) 6-3, 6-2
CERRINI, Ezequiel
(Florida Gulf Coast) def. HUSSEY, Austin (Kentucky) 5-7, 7-6 (7-4), 7-6
(7-3)
STEFANIK, Jake
(Kentucky) def. ALFONZO, Eduardo (Florida Gulf Coast) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
BENSON, Gus
(Kentucky) def. LANDERT, Oliver (Florida Gulf Coast) 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 6-4
LAI, Kevin
(Kentucky) def. FERNANDEZ, Javier (Florida Gulf Coast) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Doubles
ELLEFSEN,
Nils/LAI, Kevin (Kentucky) def. BUTSCH, Justin/FREUND, Simon (LSU) 6-2
MATSAMURA,
Ryotaro/WALLART, Enzo (Kentucky) def. CSONKA, Gabor/TRINH, Tam (LSU) 7-5
For more information on the Kentucky men’s
tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
