Men's Tennis
Liam Draxl Earns Spot in NCAA Championship Quarterfinals

Liam Draxl Earns Spot in NCAA Championship Quarterfinals

by Connor Link

ORLANDO, Fla. – Liam Draxl’s legendary first full season on campus continues with a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.
 
The singles tournament’s No. 1 seed stormed back from another slow start to what was perhaps his most clutch performance to date on Tuesday against No. 10 Adam Walton of Tennessee.
 
Walton claimed the opening set 6-3, marking the fourth consecutive match in which Draxl would require an extra set for a chance to win. Draxl forced the issue with a 6-4 decision in the second before finding himself pushed to the brink in set three.
 
Down 3-5 in the deciding set, Draxl fought off back-to-back match points to claw his way to a 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory. The sophomore from Newmarket, Ontario, moves to 24-2 on the season with four wins against opponents ranked in the top 10.
 
As the first Wildcat to appear in the NCAA Championship quarterfinals since Eric Quigley made a run to the finals in 2012, Draxl will take on No. 9 Gabriel Decamps of host UCF on Wednesday at noon ET.
 
While Draxl was battling on the adjacent court, No. 14 Gabriel Diallo’s NCAA Championship run ended in the round of 16 with a 6-3, 6-1 loss to the sport’s only 10-time ITA All-American, No. 35 William Blumberg of North Carolina.
 
ITA All-America criteria for NCAA Division I singles includes earning a top-16 seed or advancing to the round of 16 at the NCAA Championship, as well as finishing in the top 20 of the final ITA Rankings. For doubles, All-America honors are bestowed to partners who earn a top-eight seed or advance to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship, as well as those who finish in the top 10 in the final ITA Rankings.
 
Both Draxl and Diallo will officially be named ITA All-Americans at the end of the season.
 
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.
 
 

– GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Connor Link (connor.link@uky.edu) – (859) 257-3838

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