No. 19 Kentucky Downs Dayton in Doubleheader
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Kentucky Wildcats (7-0), who moved up to No. 19 in the Oracle/ITA Rankings during the first installment of Wednesday’s doubleheader, stayed perfect on the season with back-to-back 4-0 victories over Dayton (0-4) at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
Kentucky’s six total singles points on the day were captured by five different Wildcats.
“We’re letting other teams know that coming to Kentucky is going to be a tough ask for them to get a ‘W,'” said senior Millen Hurrion, who earned both a singles and doubles win in Wednesday’s first contest. “These teams don’t care whether we’re playing one or two matches, they want to come here and get the ‘W.’ We have to protect the house.”
Hurrion and doubles partner Yasha Zemel captured the first matchup of the day with a 6-1 win over Erik Eliasson and Georgi Mavrodiev on the second court. Liam Draxl and Alexandre LeBlanc followed suit with a 6-4 win over Connor Bruce and Max DeCurtins on court one, pushing Kentucky to a 1-0 lead.
The 45th-ranked Draxl, who was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week during Wednesday’s two-hour hiatus between matches, cruised to the contest’s first singles point with a 6-3, 6-0 win over Bruce on the top court.
After Zemel beat Will Harper 6-1, 6-4 on court four, Hurrion clinched the Kentucky victory with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-1 final against Eliasson on court No. 2.
Zemel, making his collegiate debut, was the only Cat to earn singles victories in both matches. The Haifa, Israel, native defeated Ronit Hiryur 6-1, 6-2 for the first singles point of the second match, followed by wins from Jonathan Sorbo and César Bourgois to bring the day to a close.
Kentucky is set to return to action for its second battle with an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference this season, hosting Virginia Tech (1-1) on Friday at 1 p.m. ET.
For the latest on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter and Facebook, @kentuckymenstennis on Instagram, and on the web at UKAthletics.com.
#19 Kentucky 4, Dayton 0
Singles
1.#45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. Connor Bruce (UD) 6-3, 6-0
2.Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Erik Eliasson (UD) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
3.#114 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) vs. Steven Karl (UD) 6-4, 2-6, unfinished
4.Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Will Harper (UD) 6-1, 6-4
5.Jonathan Sorbo (UK) vs. Ronit Hiryur (UD) 3-2, unfinished
6.Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) vs. Heman Nama (UK) no result
Doubles
1.Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) def. Connor Bruce/Max DeCurtins (UD) 6-4
2.Millen Hurrion/Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Erik Eliasson/Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) 6-1
3.Ying-Ze Chen/Gabriel Diallo (UK) vs. Steven Karl/Ronit Hiryur (UD) 5-3, unfinished
Order of finish: Doubles (2,1); Singles (1,4,2)
#19 Kentucky 4, Dayton 0
Singles
1.Gabriel Diallo (UK) vs. Connor Bruce (UD) 1-2, unfinished
2.César Bourgois (UK) def. Steven Karl (UD) 6-3, 6-4
3.#114 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) vs. Will Harper (UD) 0-1, unfinished
4.Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur (UD) 6-1, 6-2
5.Mathis Moysan (UK) vs. Georgi Mavrodiev (UD) 3-6, 6-1, 0-2, unfinished
6.Jonathan Sorbo (UK) def. Oliver Dunne (UD) 6-0, 6-4
Doubles
1.Gabriel Diallo/César Bourgois (UK) def. Max DeCurtins/Connor Bruce (UD) 6-4
2.Liam Draxl/Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur/Steven Karl (UD) 6-4
3.Georgi Mavrodiev/Will Harper (UD) def. Mathis Moysan/Tate Sandman (UK) 6-3
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3,2); Singles (4,6,2)
