Wildcats Open SEC Play with Sweep of LSU
LEXINGTON, Ky. – Following a week away from competition, No. 16 Kentucky (11-1) opened its Southeastern Conference slate with a 4-0 sweep of LSU (8-2, 1-1 SEC) on Sunday at Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
César Bourgois and Gabriel Diallo clinched the first point of the day with their third win against a nationally ranked opponent this season, while the former also scored the match’s first singles point.
“Today was a good win against a dangerous LSU team and sets us up nicely for the long week we have coming up,” said assistant coach Matthew Gordon. “I thought our captains stepped up today and did a great job, especially César, who’s playing some good tennis at the moment. We are competing well, but in order to get to where we want to be, we need to clean up some of the individual mistakes we are making and keep improving as a team.”
After LSU claimed the first completed matchup of doubles play on court three, Millen Hurrion and Yasha Zemel moved to 3-0 as a duo with a 7-5 win over Joao Graca and Joey Thomas on court two—a spot where Kentucky has not dropped a contest all season.
Bourgois and Diallo pushed their top-court matchup against 60th-ranked Rafael Wagner and Ronald Hohmann to a tiebreaker, where the Wildcats decidedly outlasted the Tigers 7-1.
Bourgois carried the momentum into singles play, where he captured a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Boris Kozlov just as the top three singles bouts were only beginning their respective second sets.
Diallo was the next to finish on court No. 2, beating Wagner 7-5, 6-2. Hurrion put the Tigers away for good with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Tom Pisane from the third spot.
Kentucky is set to hit the road for the first of three straight conference matches away from home, taking on No. 10 Texas A&M (5-1, 1-0 SEC) on Tuesday at 4 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.
#16 Kentucky 4, LSU 0
Singles
1.#45 Liam Draxl (UK) vs. #99 Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 4-6, 6-1, 2-3, unfinished
2.Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Rafael Wagner (LSU) 7-5, 6-2
3.Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Tom Pisane (LSU) 7-5, 6-1
4.César Bourgois (UK) def. Boris Kozlov (LSU) 6-1, 6-2
5.#123 Joshua Lapadat (UK) vs. Joao Graca (LSU) 4-2, unfinished
6.Nick Watson (LSU) vs. Yasha Zemel (UK) no result
Doubles
1.Gabriel Diallo/César Bourgois (UK) def. #60 Rafael Wagner/Ronald Hohmann (LSU) 7-6 (7-1)
2.Millen Hurrion/Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Joao Graca/Joey Thomas (LSU) 7-5
3.Nick Watson/Boris Kozlov (LSU) def. Alexandre LeBlanc/Liam Draxl (UK) 6-2
Order of finish: Doubles (3,2,1); Singles (4,2,3)
