Down to the Wire, UK Men Lose on the Road at Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – In a dual match that landed in the hands of the ranked-singles competitors on court No. 1, the Kentucky men’s tennis team (9-8, SEC 3-2) lost on the road at Arkansas in a 4-3 outcome.
The Razorbacks took the lead from the start when UK dropped the doubles point, but in two tiebreak sets. Junior Cesar Bourgois and freshman Ying-Ze Chen fell to Maxim Verboven and Enrique Paya on court two, 7-5. Moments later, sophomore Kento Yamada and senior Ryo Matsumura dropped to Oscar Mesquida and Adam Sanjurjo, 7-5. Before the match retired, a third tiebreak set was on deck before, 5-5.
Trailing the Razorbacks by one point, UK leaned on the singles discipline to generate momentum. Kentucky would not find a spark immediately, when Arkansas’ Paya defeated freshman Kevin Huempfner (6-3, 6-1), stretching the Razorback lead, 2-0.
However, a pair of Wildcats rallied back-to-back wins on courts four and two helping UK to a tied dual match. On court four, Bourgois defeated Razorbacks’ Alex Reco after a tiebreak in the first set, 7-6 (5), 6-4. Then, senior Enzo Wallart came from behind to defeat Sanjurjo on court two, 4-6, 6-1, 6-1.
Tied with two matches each, Kentucky and Arkansas each took a singles win at the same time, stretching the score to 3-3. First, Wildcat Parth Aggarwal dropped to Pedro Alonso by a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 outcome. Meanwhile, UK’s Yamasa took down Josh Howard-Tripp on court three, also from behind, reporting a 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 finish.
The battle on court No. 1 remained and would decide the final score, but it wouldn’t be in UK’s favor. The 44th-best singles player in the nation in Matsumura foiled to No. 53 Oscar Mesquida, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-4. Matsumura, who was 4-3 against ranked foes prior to the match, will move to a 9-7 singles mark.
In its next appearance, the UK men’s tennis team (9-8, SEC 3-2) will meet No. 24 South Carolina in Columbia, South Carolina, for a 4 p.m. serve on March 21.
For more on Kentucky women’s tennis, follow @UKWomensTennis on Twitter and Instagram, Kentucky Women’s Tennis on Facebook, or on the web at UKathletics.com.
