UK Falls to Vandy in SEC Tourney Opener

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Despite building a 3-2 lead over the same team it defeated on the road on March 29, No. 33 Kentucky fell to No. 36 Vanderbilt 4-3 on Thursday in the first upset of the 2019 Southeastern Conference Men’s Tennis Championship.
 
The Wildcats drop to 15-14 (5-7 SEC), while the Commodores advance to 15-10 (4-8 SEC) and a quarterfinal matchup with No. 6 Mississippi State (19-3, 11-1 SEC) on Friday at noon ET.
 
Led by the 14^th-ranked duo in the nation, Vanderbilt claimed Thursday’s doubles point for an early 1-0 lead on the match. The Cats’ lone ranked singles players, No. 87 Enzo Wallart and No. 39 Ryo Matsumura, kicked off singles play with back-to-back victories to give Kentucky a 2-1 edge.
 
From that point, it was back and forth until the contest’s final point. Vandy’s Billy Rowe evened the match with a 6-3, 6-1 win over Kento Yamada on court three before UK junior Cesar Bourgois put Kentucky back on top with a 7-5, 7-6 (3) victory over Macsen Sisam.
 
Freshman Kevin Huempfner jumped out to an early lead by claiming the first set on court five, but the match’s first of two three-set decisions ended 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 to the advantage of Vanderbilt’s Maxwell Freeman. Tied 3-3 overall, the day came down to the final singles matchup between Parth Aggarwal of Kentucky and Panu Virtanen of Vandy. Aggarwal followed in Huempfner’s footsteps with an opening-set win, but the match ended 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 in favor of the Dores.
 
Kentucky will await its postseason fate after its chances at an SEC Tournament crown were cut short. NCAA Regional play begins Friday, May 3.
 
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.
 
#36 Vanderbilt 4, #33 Kentucky 3
 
Singles

1. #87 Enzo Wallart (UK) def. #78 Cameron Klinger (VANDY) 6-4, 6-2
2. #39 Ryo Matsumura (UK) def. George Harwell (VANDY) 6-3, 6-3
3. Billy Rowe (VANDY) def. Kento Yamada (UK) 6-3, 6-1
4. Cesar Bourgois (UK) def. Macsen Sisam (VANDY) 7-5, 7-6 (3)
5. Maxwell Freeman (VANDY) def. Kevin Huempfner (UK) 2-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Panu Virtanen (VANDY) def. Parth Aggarwal (UK) 5-7, 7-5, 6-2

 
Doubles

1. #14 Cameron Klinger/Billy Rowe (VANDY) def. Cesar Bourgois/Kento Yamada (UK) 7-6 (6)
2. Enzo Wallart/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. George Harwell/Maxwell Freeman (VANDY) 6-1
3. Panu Virtanen/Macsen Sisam (VANDY) def. Ryo Matsumura/Kevin Huempfner (UK) 6-2

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