Kentucky Men’s Tennis Unveils 2019-20 Schedule
LEXINGTON, Ky. – After posting a 16-15 (5-7 Southeastern Conference) record that included a 4-1 win over VCU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a season ago, the Kentucky Wildcats men’s tennis team unveiled its 2019-20 schedule on Wednesday.
The fall 2019 slate features eight tournaments across seven states, while the spring 2020 agenda incorporates 17 home tilts and 10 road trips.
In nonconference dual matches, Kentucky will open with a doubleheader versus Cleveland State and Toledo on Jan. 16 at Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex. The Wildcats will head to South Bend, Indiana, for their first true road test at Notre Dame on Jan. 19 and Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for ITA Kick-Off Weekend on Jan. 24-25. Home matches with IUPUI and Dayton (Jan. 28), Oklahoma (Feb. 2), Northern Kentucky and Northwestern (Feb. 7), as well as Memphis and Kennesaw State (Feb. 21), plus an away match at Duke (Feb. 9), will provide the final tune-ups before SEC play.
In league competition, the Cats will get LSU (March 1), Arkansas (March 13), Vanderbilt (March 20), South Carolina (April 3), Ole Miss (April 10) and Mississippi State (April 12) at home and Texas A&M (Feb. 28), Alabama (March 6), Auburn (March 8), Georgia (March 27), Tennessee (March 29) and Florida (April 5) on the road. Nonconference matchups versus Niagara (March 15) and Illinois (March 23) will break up SEC play at home.
Last season, Kentucky went 13-10 against opponents it will rematch in 2020.
After opening the fall with the M15 Champaign in Illinois last weekend, Kentucky is set to send individual players to the Fansworth-Ivy Plus in Princeton, New Jersey, on Sept. 20-22, the Milwaukee Tennis Classic on Sept. 20-23 and the ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Oct. 7-13, the in-state Louisville Invitational on Oct. 11-12, the ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships in Nashville, Tennessee, on Oct. 24-29 and the Oracle ITA National Fall Championships in Newport Beach, California, on Nov. 6-10.
“This fall is about bringing Kentucky tennis back to where it needs to be,” said head coach Cedric Kauffmann. “We have chosen some of the strongest collegiate tournaments in the country and mixed in some professional events. We have the talent level and hunger to be very successful this year. This is an important fall for us.”
Last weekend, senior Parth Aggarwal, junior Kento Yamada, redshirt freshman Jonathan Sorbo and true freshmen Alexandre LeBlanc and Gabriel Diallo picked up wins in the qualifying draw of the M15. Yamada and Diallo advanced all the way to the main draw of the tournament, where freshman Liam Draxl was already waiting. Diallo earned a 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2 win over Great Britain’s Joshua Paris in the opening round, while Draxl advanced to the quarterfinals before dropping a 7-5, 7-5 contest to Illinois senior Aleks Kovacevic.
Draxl and Yamada teamed up for doubles play, beating second-seeded Americans Grey Hamilton and Austin Rapp 7-5, 6-2 in the first round before withdrawing to Zachary Svajda of the United States and Kareem Al Allaf of Syria in the second.
“I was happy with the way the guys competed in their first fall event,” assistant coach Matthew Gordon said. “Everybody picked up either ITF or ATP points and I am very happy for Gabriel for earning his first pro ranking. Liam also had a solid tournament, making the quarterfinals of singles and doubles with Kento. This team has a lot of potential, and although it was a good tournament, I don’t think they were satisfied. They are hungry to get back to work, and I think that sets the tone for what we want to achieve this year.”
The coaching staff’s optimism was validated in last Tuesday’s 2019-20 Preseason ITA Division I Men’s National Rankings, where three Cats debuted among the most highly rated players in collegiate tennis. Yamada landed at No. 116 in the singles rankings and made an appearance alongside senior César Bourgois as the 32nd-ranked doubles team. Draxl enters college as the No. 2 Freshman/Newcomer in America.
M15 CHAMPAIGN
Singles (Qualifying Draw)
Round 1 Alexandre LeBlanc (CAN) def. Vikas Deo (USA) 4-6, 7-6 (4) [10-6]
Parth Aggarwal (IND) def. Blagovest Simov (USA) 6-0, 6-0
Kento Yamada (JPN) def. Patrick Harper (AUS) 6-4, 6-3
Gabriel Diallo (CAN) def. Jason Kerst (USA) 6-4, 6-3
Jonathan Sorbo (CAN) def. Julian Allen Childers (USA) 7-6 (2), 6-4
Round 2 Alexandre LeBlanc (CAN) def. Abraham Asaba (GHA) 6-2, 6-7 (5) [10-5]
Parth Aggarwal (IND) def. Alex Bancila (USA) 3-6, 6-3 [10-4]
Kento Yamada (JPN) def. Osgar O’Hoisin (IRL) 6-2, 6-1
Gabriel Diallo (CAN) def. Joe Tyler (GBR) 7-5, 6-4
Steven Forman (USA) def. Jonathan Sorbo (CAN) 7-5, 6-4
Round 3 Kareem Al Allaf (SYR) def. Alexandre LeBlanc (CAN) 6-1, 7-5
Adam Walton (AUS) def. Parth Aggarwal (IND) 3-6, 6-3 [10-4]
Kento Yamada (JPN) def. Martim Leote Prata (POR) 3-6, 6-1 [10-3]
Gabriel Diallo (CAN) def. Steven Forman (USA) 7-5, 5-7 [10-7]
Singles (Main Draw)
Round 1 Gabriel Diallo (CAN) def. Joshua Paris (GBR) 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-2
Alexander Cozbinov (MDA) def. Kento Yamada (JPN) 6-1, 6-2
Liam Draxl (CAN) def. Martim Leote Prata (POR) 6-4, 6-3
Round 2 Ezekiel Clark (USA) def. Gabriel Diallo (CAN) 6-3, 6-3
Liam Draxl (CAN) def. Andrew Watson (GBR) 6-2, 7-5
Quarterfinal Aleks Kovacevic (USA) def. Liam Draxl (CAN) 7-5, 7-5
Doubles (Main Draw)
Round 1 Liam Draxl (CAN)/Kento Yamada (JPN) def. Grey Hamilton (USA)/Austin Rapp (USA) 7-5, 6-2
Quarterfinal Kareem Al Allaf (SYR)/Zachary Svajda (USA) def. Liam Draxl (CAN)/Kento Yamada (JPN) Walkover
2019-20 KENTUCKY MEN’S TENNIS SCHEDULE
Fall 2019
Sept. 8-14 M15 Champaign
Sept. 20-22 Farnsworth-Ivy Plus
Sept. 20-23 Milwaukee Tennis Classic
Oct. 7-13 ITA All-American Championships
Oct. 11-12 Louisville Invitational
Oct. 24-29 ITA Ohio Valley Regional Championships
Nov. 6-10 Oracle ITA National Fall Championships
Spring 2020
Jan. 16 Cleveland State
Jan. 16 Toledo
Jan. 19 at Notre Dame
Jan. 24-25 ITA Kick-Off Weekend
Jan. 28 IUPUI
Jan. 28 Dayton
Feb. 2 Oklahoma
Feb. 7 Northern Kentucky
Feb. 7 Northwestern
Feb. 9 at Duke
Feb. 14-15 Oracle ITA National Indoor Championship
Feb. 21 Memphis
Feb. 21 Kennesaw State
Feb. 28 at Texas A&M
March 1 LSU
March 6 at Alabama
March 8 at Auburn
March 13 Arkansas
March 15 Niagara
March 15 Niagara
March 20 Vanderbilt
March 23 Illinois
March 27 at Georgia
March 29 at Tennessee
April 3 South Carolina
April 5 at Florida
April 10 Ole Miss
April 12 Mississippi State
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.
