The No. 25 Kentucky men’s tennis team fell to No. 50 Alabama, 4-1, in the second round of the Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday night in Tuscaloosa. UK, the five seed in the tournament, fell to 14-11 while 12th-seeded Alabama improved to 18-11.
Alabama was the first to strike with the doubles point. Trey Yates and Ryo Matsumura were the first court to fall, losing to Patrick Kaukovalta and Zeh Zhou, 7-5. No. 18 Cesar Bourgois and Gus Benson had a 7-6 win over No. 30 Mazen Osama and Edson Ortiz, 7-6 (7-4). Will Bushamuka and Austin Hussey lost, 7-6 (8-6) to give Alabama the doubles point.
The Crimson Tide took a 2-0 advantage when Austin Hussey fell to Zhe Zhou, 6-3, 6-3. Hussey is now 10-10 this season and 4-3 on the No. 6 court.
Bama extended its advantage to 3-0 when No. 8 Ryo Matsumura was defeated by No. 18 Mazen Osama, 7-5, 6-4. Matsumura is now 17-4 overall this year and 9-3 against nationally ranked opponents.
UK earned its only point of the game when No. 49 Will Bushamuka took down Patrick Kaukovalta, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3. Bushamuka improved to 10-7 this year and 9-2 on the No. 2 court.
Alabama won the match when Kento Yamada lost to Alexey Nesterov, 7-5, 6-3. Yamada is 7-6 this season.
Two courts remained unfinished when play was called. Enzo Wallart was down 6-7 (2-7), 1-3 and Yates was down 6-7 (3-7), 5-5 when the match finished.
Kentucky will now await its fate in the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will take place on May 1 at 5:30 p.m. live on NCAA.com.
Tennis Match Results
Kentucky vs Alabama
4/26/2018 at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
(Alabama Tennis Stadium)
#50 Alabama 4, #25 Kentucky 1
Singles competition
1. #18 Osama, Mazen (UA) def. #8 Ryotaro Matsumura (KENTUCKY) 7-5, 6-4
2. #49 Will Bushamuka (KENTUCKY) def. Kaukovalta, Patrick (UA) 6-3, 2-6, 6-3
3. Cancel, Thibault (UA) vs. Enzo Wallart (KENTUCKY) 7-6 (7-2), 3-1, unfinished
4. Ortiz, Edson (UA) vs. Trey Yates (KENTUCKY) 7-6 (7-3), 5-5, unfinished
5. Nesterov, Alexey (UA) def. Kento Yamada (KENTUCKY) 7-5, 6-3
6. Zhou, Zhe (UA) def. Austin Hussey (KENTUCKY) 6-3, 6-3
Doubles competition
1. #18 Gus Benson/Cesar Bourgois (KENTUCKY) def. #30 Osama, Mazen/Ortiz, Edson (UA) 7-6 (7-4)
2. Cancel, Thibault/Nesterov, Alexey (UA) def. Will Bushamuka/Austin Hussey (KENTUCKY) 7-6 (8-6)
3. Kaukovalta, Patrick/Zhou, Zhe (UA) def. Trey Yates/Ryotaro Matsumura (KENTUCKY) 7-5
Match Notes:
Kentucky 14-11; National ranking #25
Alabama 18-11; National ranking #50
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2); Singles (6,1,2,5)
T-3:15 A-107
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
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For more information contact:
Mike Scholze