Kentucky Comes From Behind to Beat No. 7 Illinois, 4-3
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After going down 3-1, the Kentucky (7-3) men’s tennis team rallied to defeat No. 7 Illinois (6-4), 4-3, at the Boone Tennis Center on Sunday afternoon. Junior Austin Hussey clinched the match in a dramatic third set win.
“Austin (Hussey) is a really clutch player in those moments,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “We just have to get him to those moments as much as possible. When he plays a match that’s really tight he does a really good job. We talk a lot about flipping matches, and that’s what we did today to beat a top-10 team. It’s about being consistent and if you can do that you can beat anyone at the collegiate level.”
On the No. 5 court, Hussey battled through two tiebreakers to win 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (9-11), 6-4 over No. 83 Zeke Clark to give the Cats their first ranked win of the season.
“We’ve just been training so hard and the team is in such good shape,” Hussey said. “This is what we’ve been working for. It paid off today. The fans helped us. When you win a point and have an explosion in the crowd, it’s amazing. Every point gives you confidence and (with the fans) you feel unstoppable out there.”
Kentucky went down early as the duos of Ryo Matsumura and Enzo Wallart and Will Bushamuka and Trey Yates each lost, 6-2. Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson, on the No. 1 court, was locked in a 5-5 battle when doubles play was called.
Illinois jumped out to a 2-0 lead when Trey Yates fell to Aleks Kovacevic, 6-1, 7-6 (7-4).
No. 63 Ryo Matsumura but the Cats on the board when he earned a ranked win over No. 87 Aron Hiltzik, 6-4, 6-1 on the No. 2 court. That was Matsumura’s first ranked win of the season and is now 6-1 overall, with five of those wins coming on the No. 2 court.
The Fighting Illini punched back with after Will Bushamuka fell to No. 23 Aleks Vukic. Bushamuka went down early after losing the first set 6-1, but won the second 7-5. Vukic won the third set, 6-0.
Kentucky would start the comeback when Kento Yamada earned his sixth victory of the season. He beat Noe Khilf, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and is now 2-1 on the No. 6 court.
No. 115 Enzo Wallart earned his first ranked victory of the season over No. 116 Alex Brown to tie the match 3-3. Wallart won came from behind to win 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4 before Hussey would hand the Cats the win.
UK will be back in action next Friday at Oklahoma before starting SEC play on March 4 at Alabama.
Tennis Match Results
Illinois vs Kentucky
Feb 25, 2018 at Lexington, Ky.
(Boone Tennis Center)
Kentucky 4, #7 Illinois 3
Singles competition
1. #23 Aleks Vukic (UI) def. Will Bushamuka (KENTUCKY) 6-1, 5-7, 6-0
2. #63 Ryotaro Matsumura (KENTUCKY) def. #97 Aron Hiltzik (UI) 6-4, 6-1
3. #115 Enzo Wallart (KENTUCKY) def. #116 Alex Brown (UI) 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-4
4. Aleks Kovacevic (UI) def. Trey Yates (KENTUCKY) 6-1, 7-6 (7-4)
5. Austin Hussey (KENTUCKY) def. #83 Zeke Clark (UI) 7-6 (7-3), 6-7 (9-11), 6-4
6. Kento Yamada (KENTUCKY) def. Noe Khlif (UI) 6-3, 4-6, 6-4
Doubles competition
1. Cesar Bourgois/Gus Benson (KENTUCKY) vs. Aleks Vukic/Aron Hiltzik (UI) 5-5, unfinished
2. Aleks Kovacevic/Zeke Clark (UI) def. Ryotaro Matsumura/Enzo Wallart (KENTUCKY) 6-2
3. Vuk Budic/Noe Khlif (UI) def. Will Bushamuka/Trey Yates (KENTUCKY) 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2); Singles (4,2,1,6,3,5)
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
