No. 18 Cats Fall on Road to No. 11 Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. – No. 18 Kentucky came up short in Sunday’s top-25 Southeastern Conference matchup, falling 6-1 to No. 11 Georgia at Magill Tennis Complex on Sunday afternoon.

Freshman Ryotaro Matsumura was the bright spot in Kentucky’s performance, notching his 14th singles victory of the season with his largest of his young career, defeating No. 34 Wayne Montgomery. The win also marked his fourth against a ranked opponent. Matsumura took down Montgomery in straight sets, losing five total games in a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Kentucky sits at 14-5 this season with a 4-3 SEC record. Georgia is 12-3 with an unblemished 6-0 record in league play. 

The Wildcats return to the court on Friday, April 1, facing the Volunteers of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee.

UGA started with a strong performance in doubles, with both of the team’s ranked doubles pairs notching wins. 

Sophomore Jake Stefanik and junior Nils Ellefsen both faced setbacks before Matsumura’s win. Sophomore William Bushamuka was upset by Austin Smith on the top court, 6-3, 7-5, to clinch the match for the Bulldogs.

#11 Georgia 6, #18 Kentucky 1

Singles competition

1. #35 Austin Smith (UGA) def. #27 William Bushamuka (UK) 6-3, 7-5 

2. Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. #34 Wayne Montgomery (UGA) 6-3, 6-2 

3. Paul Oosterbaan (UGA) def. Nils Ellefsen (UK) 7-5, 6-2 

4. #120 Walker Duncan (UGA) def. Trey Yates (UK) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3 

5. Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 5-7, 6-3, 1-0 

6. Nick Wood (UGA) def. Jake Stefanik (UK) 6-4, 6-2

Doubles competition

1. #5 Austin Smith/Ben Wagland (UGA) def. Enzo Wallart/Nils Ellefsen (UK) 6-3

2. #58 Paul Oosterbaan/Jan Zielinski (UGA) def. William Bushamuka/Gus Benson (UK) 6-1 

3. Wayne Montgomery/Emil Reinberg (UGA) vs. Ryotaro Matsumura/Austin Hussey (UK) 5-4, unfinished

Match Notes:

Kentucky 14-5; National ranking #18

Georgia 12-3; National ranking #11

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (3,6,2,1)

For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.