Cats Fall to Florida, Will Play at Vandy Next Friday
LEXINGTON, Ky. – No. 40 Kentucky (9-10, 3-4 Southeastern Conference) fell to No. 4 Florida (15-2, 7-0 SEC) 7-0 on Thursday afternoon at the Boone Tennis Center.
“Florida is one of the best teams in the country and they were too good today,” said assistant coach Matthew Gordon. “It’s been a tough week for us, but it’s time to get back to work. We are very motivated to step it up, work even harder, and finish the season strongly.”
The match began with Florida gaining the first point of the day with a win in both completed doubles matchups. The Gators’ Duarte Vale and McClain Kessler defeated Kentucky’s Cesar Bourgois and Theo McDonald 6-4. UK’s pair of Kento Yamada and Ryo Matsumura were defeated 6-3 by Oliver Crawford and Sam Riffice.
Singles play included two nationally ranked matchups on the afternoon. The first featured Florida’s No. 15 Crawford and Kentucky’s No. 36-ranked Matsumura, ending with Crawford picking the win in two sets. The other ranked matchup was between No. 51 Riffice of Florida and UK’s 118th-ranked Wallart, resulting in a 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 triumph for the Gators.
The Wildcats will continue SEC competition against No. 28 Vanderbilt in Nashville, Tenn. next Friday at 5 p.m. ET.
For the latest on Kentucky men’s tennis, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and @KentuckyMensTennis on Instagram, and follow the team on the web at UKAthletics.com.
#4 Florida def. #40 Kentucky 7-0
Singles
1. #15 Oliver Crawford (UF) def. #36 Ryo Matsumura (UK) 7-6, 6-2
2. #51 Sam Riffice (UF) def. #118 Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-4, 0-6, 6-2
3. #29 Andres Andrade (UF) def. Kento Yamada (UK) 6-3, 6-4
4. #97 Johannes Ingildsen (UF) def. Cesar Bourgois (UK) 6-2, 6-3
5. Lukas Greif (UF) def. Kevin Huempfner (UK) 6-0, 7-5
6. Duarte Vale (UF) def. Theo McDonald (UK) 6-1, 6-0
Doubles
1. Duarte Vale/McClain Kessler (UF) def. Cesar Bourgois/Theo McDonald (UK) 6-4
2. Oliver Crawford/Sam Riffice (UF) def. Kento Yamada/Ryo Matsumura (UK) 6-3
3. Enzo Wallart/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) vs. Johannes Ingildsen/Alfredo Perez (UF) 3-5, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (1,2); Singles (6,4,3,5,1,2)
