Cats Grind Out 5-2 Victory Over Virginia Tech

LEXINGTON, Ky. – In a rigorous battle that clocked just over 3 ½ hours, the No. 19 Kentucky Wildcats (8-0) ground out a 5-2 victory over the Virginia Tech Hokies (1-2) on Friday at Hilary J. Boone Indoor Tennis Center.
 
Kentucky continued its streak of eight straight doubles points and saw swift 6-2, 6-1 singles wins from Gabriel Diallo over Alex Ribeiro on the third court and No. 45 Liam Draxl over Carlo Donato in the top matchup, giving the Wildcats a commanding 3-0 lead.
 
Momentum soon swung the other direction, as Virginia Tech claimed the next two points with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Millen Hurrion by the Hokies’ Matthis Ross on court No. 2 and a 3-6, 6-1, 7-5 three-set thriller by Hugo Maia over No. 123 Joshua Lapadat on court No. 4.
 
The contest came down to the last two matchups, where fifth-year senior César Bourgois clinched the win against Alvaro Ariza with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 performance. The teams played out the final point, won 6-4, 7-6 (7-3) by Yasha Zemel against Ryan Fishback.
 
The Cats are set to return to action on Sunday, hosting the Duke Blue Devils (2-3) at noon 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 5, Virginia Tech 2
 
Singles
1.#45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. Carlo Donato (VT) 6-2, 6-1
2.Matthis Ross (VT) def. Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-4, 6-4
3.Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Alex Ribeiro (VT) 6-2, 6-1
4.Hugo Maia (VT) def. #123 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
5.César Bourgois (UK) def. Alvaro Ariza (VT) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
6.Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Ryan Fishback (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
 
Doubles
1.Gabriel Diallo/César Bourgois (UK) def. Jordan Chrysostom/Alex Ribeiro (VT) 6-3
2.Millen Hurrion/Yasha Zemel (UK) vs. Ryan Kros/Carlo Donato (VT) 5-3, unfinished
3.Alexandre LeBlanc/Liam Draxl (UK) def. Mitch Harper/Matthis Ross (VT) 6-1
 
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1); Singles (3,1,2,4,5,6)