UK Tennis’ Bushamuka, Matsumura Prepared for NCAA Singles Tournament

Kentucky men’s tennis sophomore William Bushamuka and freshman Ryotaro Matsumura will represent the Wildcats on May 25 through May 30 at the Case Tennis Center in Tulsa, Okla., in the NCAA singles tournament, both looking to make a run deep in the single elimination contest.

Bushamuka and Matsumura both enter the tournament as at-large bids. The tournament is formatted with competitors playing once daily.
In the tournament’s first round, Bushamuka is set for a matchup with Virginia’s Collin Altamirano. Bushamuka was the lone Wildcat to score a point when UK faced the Cavaliers earlier in the season, taking a straight-set victory on the top court.
Matsumura is set to face Mackenzie McDonald of UCLA, the tournament’s overall six seed. UK and UCLA have not seen each other this season.
Bushamuka enters the tournament with a 16-9 singles record in dual matches this season, including a 13-9 record on the top court. An All-SEC First Team selection, he currently ranks No. 29 in the country and ranked as high as 23 during the season. Bushamuka’s 10 wins over ranked singles opponents marked a team best, including four wins against opponents ranked in the top 15 in the country. The Princeton, N.J., native’s season was highlighted by a straight-set victory over reigning NCAA singles champion Ryan Shane, 7-6, 6-3. He has a 45-30 career record in singles play. Bushamuka was named the Ohio Valley Region Player to Watch earlier this month.
Matsumura earned a team-high 18 singles wins in dual matches, including a 14-8 record on the second court while going 4-0 playing at No. 1. The Fukui, Japan native took seven ranked wins over the course of the season and ranked as high as 31 in ITA singles rankings, while currently sitting at No. 42 in the country. He went 7-3 in SEC matches, with his highest ranked win of the season coming in an upset of No. 34 Wayne Montgomery at Georgia. Matsumura has earned a plethora of awards this season, including SEC Co-Freshman of the Year, ITA Ohio Valley Region Rookie of the Year, and spots on the All-SEC Second Team and SEC All-Freshman Team.
The No. 20 Kentucky Wildcats men’s tennis team returned to the NCAA tournament for the 26th time in program history earlier this month, where the team fell, 4-3, in the first round of the tournament to Virginia Tech.
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
by Steve Sommer