Kentucky Men’s Tennis Places Three on All-SEC Team
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Kentucky men’s tennis team had three athletes named All-Southeastern Conference, the league office announced Thursday afternoon. Junior Ryo Matsumura and senior Will Bushamuka were named to the first team, while senior Trey Yates made the second team.
Matsumura makes his third appearance on an All-SEC team and his first on the top team. Matsumura was named SEC Freshman of the Year two years ago. He dropped just two matches in conference play and just four all season. The Fukui, Japan native went 17-4 during dual play this season, with 11 of his wins coming on the top court. Matsumura picked up nine ranked wins, including two wins over opponents ranked No. 3 in the nation. He is currently ranked No. 8 in the country in the latest Oracle ITA Rankings.
Bushamuka spilt time on the top court and the No. 2 court and earned 10 wins in 2018. This marks his third All-SEC honor and his second on the first team. Bushamuka went 9-2 on the No. 2 court and has four wins over nationally ranked opponents. Bushamuka earned two top-15 wins, taking down No. 6 Arthur Rinderknech, 6-4, 6-0 and No. 13 Giovanni Oradini, 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).
Yates earns his first All-SEC selection after splitting time on third and fourth court. Yates earned nine wins on the No. 4 court and two on the No. 2 and No. 3 court. Yates went 2-2 against nationally ranked opponents, including a win over No. 24 Valentin Vacherot of Texas A&M, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. Yates went 13-6 this season in dual play.
Collectively, all three combined for 40 wins in dual play this season. Both Bushamuka and Matsumura regularly play doubles, and have 14 doubles win this season.
Kentucky will kick off NCAA Tournament next week against Virginia Tech in the first round on Friday, May 11 at 10 a.m. at Ohio State.
First Team All-SEC
Mazen Osama, Alabama
Jose Salazar, Arkansas
Oliver Crawford, Florida
Alfredo Perez, Florida
Will Bushamuka, Kentucky
Ryotaro Matsumura, Kentucky
Tim Sandkaulen, Ole Miss
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Giovanni Oradini, Mississippi State
Strahinja Rakic, Mississippi State
Gabriel Friedrich, South Carolina
Timo Stodder, Tennessee
Patrick Kypson, Texas A&M
Arthur Rinderknech, Texas A&M
Cameron Klinger, Vanderbilt
Daniel Valent, Vanderbilt
Second Team All-SEC
Edson Ortiz, Alabama
Matteo DeVincentis, Auburn
Johannes Ingildsen. Florida
Wayne Montgomery, Georgia
Nathan Ponwith, Georgia
Jan Zielinski, Georgia
Trey Yates, Kentucky
Shane Monroe, LSU
Gustav Hansson, Ole Miss
Niclas Braun, Mississippi State
Paul Jubb, South Carolina
Scott Jones, Tennessee
Juan Carlos Aguilar, Texas A&M
Jordi Arconada, Texas A&M
Valentin Vacherot, Texas A&M
Baker Newman, Vanderbilt
All-Freshman
Matteo DeVincentis, Auburn
Oliver Crawford, Florida
Florian Broska, Mississippi State
Juan Carlos Aguilar, Texas A&M
Patrick Kypson, Texas A&M
George Harwell, Vanderbilt
Player of the Year
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Freshman of the Year
Oliver Crawford, Florida
Scholar-Athlete of the Year
Nuno Borges, Mississippi State
Coach of the Year
Matt Roberts, Mississippi State
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
