No. 15 Kentucky is next test for NKU Men’s Tennis

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Northern Kentucky’s men’s tennis team is back in action this weekend with the staunchest opponent on the 2017 schedule. The Norse will make the trip south to Lexington on Sunday to take on No. 15 Kentucky, with first serve slated for 5 p.m.

NKU Men (1-1) at No. 15 Kentucky (5-1)
Sunday, Feb. 5 – 5 p.m. ET
Boone Tennis Center – Lexington, Ky.
Live Scoring

LAST TIME OUT: The Norse most recently snapped a seven-match winning streak for Abilene Christian, downing the Wildcats in a 5-2 decision on Jan. 28. NKU switched up its doubles lineup across the board, and used close 7-5 victories in the No. 1 and 3 slots to take the opening point. From there, the Norse went on to win in No. 2, 3, 4 and 6 singles, with Javier Araya delivering the blow with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 in No. 3 singles over Nico Agritelley to clinch the match at 4-0 before the two teams finished out the remainder of singles action.

SCOUTING KENTUCKY: The No. 15 Wildcats have had just one loss this spring, suffering a 4-0 setback to then-No. 13 Oklahoma State at ITA Nationals, and face an even tougher opponent on Saturday night when they host the reigning national champion, No. 1 Virginia. Kentucky’s lineup features three ranked ITA singles players, led by the duo of No. 17 Ryotaro Matsumura and No. 23 Will Bushamuka, who have been interchangeable at the No. 1 and 2 spots. Matsumura has already clinched All-America honors in his sophomore season after a national title at the Oracle ITA Masters on Oct. 16. Also ranked for the Cats are No. 110 Trey Yates, who has been playing at the No. 5 or 6 slot, and the No. 23 doubles team of Beck Pennington and Enzo Wallart. However, since the start of the spring season, Pennington has teamed up with Bushamuka in the No. 1 doubles spot for UK, while Wallart has been paired with Nils Ellefsen in No. 2 doubles.

For more information on NKU’s men’s and women’s tennis program, follow the team on Twitter @NKUNorseTennis or at facebook.com/nkunorsetennis.

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Chloe Smith
Assistant Athletic Communications Director
Northern Kentucky University