Cats Back to Winning Ways with Road Victory Over Vandy

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After falling victim to the wrong end of a three-match losing skid, No. 46 Kentucky bounced back by way of a 4-3 win at No. 30 Vanderbilt on Friday evening. With the win, the Wildcats even their Southeastern Conference record at 4-4, as well as their overall tally at 10-10.
 
Kentucky began the night with a brand-new doubles lineup, headed on court one by the season debut of Cesar Bourgois and Kento Yamada as a unit. After the duo fell 6-4 to No. 80 Cameron Klinger and Billy Rowe, Ryo Matsumura and Kevin Huempfner defeated George Harwell and Christiaan Worst 7-5 in the third doubles slot.
 
Senior Enzo Wallart and freshman Ying-Ze Chen clinched the opening point 7-5 over Maxwell Freeman and Macsen Sisam, giving the pair its first doubles win of the season.
 
Facing a 1-0 deficit, the Commodores answered back with Panu Virtanen’s 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Parth Aggarwal on court six. No. 36 Matsumura put the Cats right back on top, however, beating No. 89 Klinger 6-2, 6-3 for his fifth win over a nationally ranked opponent.
 
Huempfner, after tasting victory alongside Matsumura in doubles play, put Kentucky up 3-1 with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Freeman on court five. Vandy claimed the next singles matchup on court four, but senior co-captain No. 118 Wallart sealed the match for the Cats with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Harwell in the No. 2 spot.

Kentucky will continue its action-packed weekend with a neutral-site Saturday doubleheader to polish off non-conference play. The Cats are slated for a visit to Akron, Ohio, taking on Niagara at 6 p.m. ET. The second match is scheduled for approximately two hours after the first commences.

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.
 
#46 Kentucky 4, #30 Vanderbilt 3
 
Singles

1. #36 Ryo Matsumura (UK) def. #89 Cameron Klinger (VANDY) 6-2, 6-3
2. #118 Enzo Wallart (UK) def. George Harwell (VANDY) 6-4, 6-4
3. Billy Rowe (VANDY) def. Kento Yamada (UK) 7-5, 7-6 (7-5)
4. Macsen Sisam (VANDY) def. Cesar Bourgois (UK) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
5. Kevin Huempfner (UK) def. Maxwell Freeman (VANDY) 7-5, 6-1
6. Panu Virtanen (VANDY) def. Parth Aggarwal (UK) 6-3, 6-2

 
Doubles

1. #80 Cameron Klinger/Billy Rowe (VANDY) def. Cesar Bourgois/Kento Yamada (UK) 6-4
2. Enzo Wallart/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Maxwell Freeman/Macsen Sisam (VANDY) 7-5
3. Ryo Matsumura/Kevin Huempfner (UK) def. George Harwell/Christiaan Worst (VANDY) 7-5

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