The No. 15 Kentucky men’s tennis team continued its successful start to the season, earning a 5-2 victory against No. 25 Duke inside the Boone Tennis Center on Friday evening. The win pushes the Wildcats to a 3-0 overall record this season and marks UK’s first win over a power-five school this season and first win over a ranked team.
Duke seized the first point of the match with wins in the No. 1 and No. 2 doubles matches. UK’s pair of Ryotaro Matsumura and Trey Yates were the only Wildcats to win in doubles, finishing first with an easy 6-2 win. After that, Will Bushamuka and Beck Pennington lost a hard-fought battle 6-4 on court one. To seal the point, Duke’s Spencer Furman and Nick Stachowiak downed Kentucky’s Nils Ellefsen and Enzo Wallart 6-3 in No. 2 doubles.
From there Kentucky would fire back, winning its first four singles matches to clinch the victory over the Blue Devils.
Pennington was the first to see success in singles, winning in straight sets 6-4, 6-2 to take down Duke’s Robert Levine on court three. In No. 2 singles, 17th-ranked Matsumura followed suit with a 6-3, 6-2 triumph over Vincent Lin to give UK its first lead of the night at 2-1.
To put the Wildcats up 3-1, No. 23-ranked Bushamuka posted a quick 6-4, 6-3 win in the No. 1 singles spot. To finish it off, UK’s Ellefsen took down Furman 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 on court four, which was the only match to go three sets on the day.
“We knew today was not going to be the prettiest of matches,” Pennington said. “It’s still early in the season, but I’m pleased how we came out after losing the doubles point and won the first four singles matches.”
“We are happy we got the win today,” Ellefsen said. “Duke is a tough team and we always have battles against them. We didn’t play our best today, but it felt good getting through with a win.”
Kentucky will look to remain perfect on the season when it continues its home stand on Sunday against Notre Dame. The match is set for a 1 p.m. ET start.
Results
#15 Kentucky 4, #25 Duke
Boone Tennis Center – Lexington, Ky.
Singles
1. #23 Will Bushamuka (UK) def. Catalin Mateas (DU) 6-3, 6-4
2. #17 Ryotaro Matsumura (UK) def. Vincent Lin (DU) 6-3, 6-2
3. Beck Pennington (UK) def. Robert Levine (DU) 6-4, 6-2
4. Nils Ellefsen (UK) def. Spencer Furman (DU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3
5. Nick Stachowiak (DU) def. #110 Trey Yates (UK) 6-2, 6-2
6. Enzo Wallart (UK) def. TJ Pura (DU) 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 1-0 (6)
Doubles
1. Catalin Mateas/Vincent Lin (DU) def. Will Bushamuka/Beck Pennington (UK) 6-4
2. Spencer Furman/Nick Stachowiak (DU) def. Nils Ellefsen/Enzo Wallart (UK) 6-3
3. Ryotaro Matsumura/Trey Yates (UK) def. Jason Lapidus/TJ Pura (DU) 6-2
Match Notes:
Order of finish: Doubles (3,1,2*); Singles (3,2,1,4*,5,6)
For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team, follow @UKMensTennis on Twitter or Kentucky Men’s Tennis Team on Facebook.
‑ GO CATS –
For more information contact:
Mike Scholze (mike.scholze@uky.edu)
859-257-3838
—————————
Chris Shoals
UK Media Relations
