No. 24 Kentucky Suffers First Home Loss Versus Oklahoma

LEXINGTON, Ky. – After winning each of the season’s first four home matches, No. 24 Kentucky (6-2) dropped its first decision at Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Complex to Oklahoma (4-3) on Sunday in the first outdoor match of the spring.

“Today wasn’t our best day,” said assistant coach Matthew Gordon. “I thought Oklahoma competed well, but we are better than we showed today. It’s important that we have a good week of training. The loss hurts, but we are a good team. We will bounce back.”
 
The Wildcats began the afternoon by losing the doubles point for the first time all season. Senior César Bourgois soon tied the contest with a 6-4, 6-1 defeat of Alex Martinez in singles play, but Kentucky fell behind once again by a score of 2-1 when 55^th-ranked Alexandre LeBlanc lost 7-5, 6-2 to Justin Schlageter on court No. 4 four.
 
After Kevin Huempfner dropped the match’s final two-set decision in a 6-5, 6-1 contest with Max Stewart on the last court, junior Millen Hurrion captured Kentucky’s second point of the day with a 6-3, 0-6, 7-6(3) thriller over Jake Van Emburgh in his first career victory as the top UK singles player.
 
The Sooners would go on to outlast the Cats on courts five and two, however, beating Kentucky for the third straight season.
 
Kentucky will return to action with a home doubleheader on Friday, taking on Northern Kentucky (0-3) at 11 a.m. ET and Northwestern (4-2) at 6 p.m.
 
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.
 
Oklahoma 5, #24 Kentucky 2
 
Singles

1. Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Jake Van Emburgh (OU) 6-3, 0-6, 7-6(3)
2. Mark Mandlik (OU) def. Gabriel Diallo (UK) 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5)
3. César Bourgois (UK) def. Alex Martinez (OU) 6-4, 6-1
4. Justin Schlageter (OU) def. #55 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) 7-5, 6-2
5. #116 Jochen Bertsch (OU) def. Kento Yamada (UK) 4-6, 6-4, 6-3
6. Max Stewart (OU) def. Kevin Huempfner (UK) 6-5, 6-1

Doubles

1. Jake Van Emburgh/Mark Mandlik (OU) def. César Bourgois/Liam Draxl (UK) 6-1
2. Max Stewart/Alex Martinez (OU) def. Gabriel Diallo/Millen Hurrion (UK) 7-5
3. Kevin Huempfner/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Jochen Bertsch/Justin Schlageter (OU) 6-4

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