Four Wildcats Advance to Day Three of ITA Regional Championships
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Kentucky men’s tennis team earned four singles draw wins and two doubles draw victories on day two of the ITA Regional Championships on the campus of the University of Tennessee. Senior Nils Ellefsen, junior Trey Yates, sophomore Enzo Wallart and senior Beck Pennington all picked up a win today to advance to the fourth round. The pairing of Pennington/Wallart won twice to advance to the fourth round while Ellefsen/Yates came up just short.
“Today was another impressive effort from the guys, especially in the singles matches,” assistant coach Matt Emery said. “We had a bit of a slow start to the day in doubles with Nils and Trey losing close to a good Louisville pair, but those two guys brushed it off well and bounced back in a big way in singles.”
“All four guys did a great job in singles of getting ahead and not letting off the gas,” Emery added. “I’m especially proud of how well Trey played today. That was a very complete match from him today. I’m looking for all four guys to bring the same focus and confidence tomorrow.”
Yates earned a 6-0, 6-1 win over Nicolas Rouanet on Friday. He will face Luca Wiedenmann of Tennessee on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Three other Wildcats also advanced to day three. Ellefsen took home a hard fought 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4) win over Gonzalo Morell of Middle Tennessee State on Friday to advance to the next round. He will face No. 21 Daniel Valent of Vanderbilt on Saturday at 9 a.m.
Wallart picked up a win over a nationally ranked opponent. The Windermere, Florida native took down No. 93 Edu Mena of Tennessee Tech, 6-2, 6-3 and will face No. 57 Ryan Peniston of Memphis on Saturday at 10 a.m.
Pennington defeated Tom Moonen, 6-2, 7-5 to move on to the Saturday. He will face No. 42 Luis Valero of Tennessee on Saturday at 10 a.m. in the next round of the regional.
The pairings of Ellefsen/Yates and Pennington/Wallart competed on day three in the doubles draw and picked up two wins. Pennington/Wallart defeated Max Grobbelaar and Michael Birnbaum in the second round, 8-7, and Bennett Crane and Keivon Tabrizi of Indiana, 8-6 to advance to day three. The duo will face Timo Stodder and Scott Jones of Tennessee on Saturday at 8 a.m.
The ITA Regional Championships features some of the top men’s and women’s players across the country. Over 8,000 student-athletes from NCAA I, II, III, NAIA, Junior and Community Colleges compete across 85 ITA Regional Championships around the country. The winners of each draw will receive berths to the ITA National Indoor Championships on Feb. 17-20 hosted by the University of Virginia.
