No. 17 Kentucky Defeats Auburn, 6-1

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 17 Kentucky men’s tennis team took the first six points and beat Auburn, 6-1, at the Boone Tennis Center on Thursday afternoon. With the win, UK improves to 12-6 and 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference while Auburn falls to 9-7 and 1-2 in the league.

“We are starting to really come together in doubles,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “Great win at No. 1 against a top-10 team in the country. William (Bushamuka) and Nils (Ellefsen) really stayed focused from start to finish and that was great to see.”

Junior Will Bushamuka and senior Nils Ellefsen earned the first doubles win in just 14 minutes after finishing off Edward Nguyen and Brandon Laubser, 6-0. The No. 70 ranked duo of senior Beck Pennington and sophomore Enzo Wallart earned a top-10 win to clinch the doubles point with a 6-3 victory over Max Hinnisdales and Conner Huertas. Junior Trey Yates and sophomore Ryo Matsumura were up 5-4 on Dante Saleh and Olle Thestrup when the point was clinched.

“I’m glad how Enzo and I are finally starting to play our game in doubles again,” Pennington said. “This was another good performance with the team and  we’re already getting back on the saddle for Saturday against Mississippi State.”

No. 75 Ellefsen gave the Cats a 2-0 lead when he defeated Edward Nguyen, 6-4, 6-0. No. 28 Bushamuka was the next to finish, and handed Kentucky a 3-0 advantage when he earned a ranked win over No. 64 Max Hinnisdaels, 6-3, 6-4. No. 25 Matsumura clinched the victory for UK with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Carles Sarrio.

“I think it was a solid performance from all the guys today,” Matsumura said. “We had great intensity in doubles and in my match, I’m happy that I played really well in the first set and was able to close it out when I was a little tight. We’re excited to play Mississippi State in two days and I think we are ready.”

Even though the match was clinched, the two sides finished. Pennington was the next to finish, winning 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (13-11). Yates finished off Brandon Laubser, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4) to put the Cats up 6-0.

“We started off well by everyone coming to play in the doubles and got that point on the board,” Yates said. “Getting first sets to fall our way on a lot of courts was good. Overall, I played a good match and was able to come out on top in the end.”

Auburn earned its only point of the match in the final singles play, as Walalrt fell to Olle Thestrup, 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (12-10).

Kentucky will be back in action Saturday at noon when UK takes on Mississippi State at the Boone Tennis Center.

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

Auburn vs Kentucky

Mar 16, 2017 at Lexington, Ky.

(Boone Tennis Center)

#17 Kentucky 6, Auburn 1

1. #28 Will Bushamuka (UK) def. #64 Max Hinnisdaels (AUBURN) 6-3, 6-4

2. Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. Carles Sarrio (AUBURN) 6-1, 6-4

3. Beck Pennington (UK) def. Conner Huertas (AUBURN) 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 1-0 (13-11)

4. #75 Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Edward Nguyen (AUBURN) 6-4, 6-0

5. Olle Thestrup (AUBURN) def. Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-4, 3-6, 1-0 (12-10)

6. Trey Yates (UK) def. Brandon Laubser (AUBURN) 6-2, 7-6 (7-4)

1. #70 Beck Pennington/Enzo Wallart (UK) def. #9 Max Hinnisdaels/Conner Huertas (AUBURN) 6-3

2. Will Bushamuka/Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Edward Nguyen/Brandon Laubser (AUBURN) 6-0

3. Trey Yates/Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. Dante Saleh/Olle Thestrup (AUBURN) 5-4

Auburn 9-7, 1-2 SEC

Kentucky 12-6, 3-2 SEC; National ranking #17

Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (4,1,2,3,6,5)

Official: Larry Stone