Kentucky Drops Cleveland State, Toledo in Spring Opener

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Kentucky opened its Spring 2020 season with a pair of wins over teams from the state of Ohio on Thursday at Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex, defeating Cleveland State 7-0 and Toledo 6-1.
 
“The first matches of the year are never easy, and I felt Cleveland State and Toledo came to play today,” said UK assistant coach Matthew Gordon. “It was exactly the test we needed. It’s a long season, but we have to keep working hard and improving throughout. It will be back to work tomorrow.”
 
The Wildcats were anchored by the debut of freshman Liam Draxl, who earned his first career ranked win in singles play with a riveting 7-5, 4-6, 6-2 win over 65^th-ranked Cleveland State senior Nico Mostardi.
 
“It was so important for Liam to get his first ranked win in his first college match,” Gordon said. “There were some nerves out there in a lot of the guys’ first match, but I was proud of the way they competed.”
 
Draxl and senior César Bourgois captured the first triumph of the morning with a 6-2 defeat of Mostardi and Luke Phillips on the doubles court, followed by a 6-1 doubles clincher for freshman Alexandre LeBlanc and sophomore Kevin Huempfner against Clark Bilinovich and Jack Santilli.
 
Former Gardner-Webb transfer Millen Hurrion claimed the first singles point with a 6-2, 6-2 defeat of Matthew Terry on court two, while freshman Gabriel Diallo picked up his first collegiate victory with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Bilinovich in the No. 4 slot. Bourgois clinched the win for Kentucky with a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 come-from-behind thriller over Phillips.
 
Draxl and Bourgois opened up Thursday’s second contest with a 6-0 sweep of Toledo’s Cole Shoults and Krzysztof Wetoszka in the top doubles matchup, followed by a 6-1 win for LeBlanc and sophomore Ying-Ze Chen over Luis Kleinschnitz and Max Skaer.
 
After securing the doubles point versus the Rockets, Kentucky rested its top four singles competitors from the match prior. Junior Kento Yamada earned a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Shoults on court one before LeBlanc, the nation’s 55^th-rated singles player, beat Wetoszka 6-1, 6-3 on the next court over. Kleinschnitz edged out Kentucky’s Jonathan Sorbo 6-3, 4-6, 6-0 in the Toronto native’s first collegiate appearance, but Huempfner clinched the match with a 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Filip Zupancic on court three.
 
Kentucky is set to travel to Notre Dame for the Fighting Irish’s season opener on Sunday. First serve is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
 
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and follow along on the web at UKAthletics.com.
 
Kentucky 7, Cleveland State 0
 
Singles

1. Liam Draxl (UK) def. #65 Nico Mostardi (CSU) 7-5, 4-6, 6-2
2. Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Matthew Terry (CSU) 6-2, 6-2
3. César Bourgois (UK) def. Luke Phillips (CSU) 4-6, 6-1, 6-3
4. Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Clark Bilinovich (CSU) 6-4, 6-4
5. Kento Yamada (UK) def. Kade Mindry (CSU) 6-1, 6-2
6. Kevin Huempfner (UK) def. Jack Santilli (CSU) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles

1. César Bourgois/Liam Draxl (UK) def. Nico Mostardi/Luke Phillips (CSU) 6-2
2. Matthew Terry/Kade Mindry (CSU) def. Gabriel Diallo/Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-4
3. Alexandre LeBlanc/Kevin Huempfner (UK) def. Clark Bilinovich/ Jack Santilli (CSU) 6-1

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

Kentucky 6, Toledo 1
 
Singles

1. Kento Yamada (UK) def. Cole Shoults (UT) 6-1, 6-0
2. #55 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Krzysztof Wetoszka (UT) 6-1, 6-3
3. Kevin Huempfner (UK) def. Filip Zupancic (UT) 1-6, 6-2, 6-2
4. Luis Kleinschnitz (UT) def. Jonathan Sorbo (UK) 6-3, 4-6, 6-0
5. Parth Aggarwal (UK) def. Max Skaer (UT) 6-1, 6-1
6. Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Nikola Arsic (UT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-5)

 
Doubles

1. Liam Draxl/César Bourgois (UK) def. Cole Shoults/Krzysztof Wetoszka (UT) 6-0
2. Millen Hurrion/Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Nikola Arsic/Filip Zupancic (UT) 6-2
3. Alexandre LeBlanc/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Luis Kleinschnitz/Max Skaer (UT) 6-1

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