Kentucky men’s tennis junior Will Bushamuka punched his ticket to the Round of 16 on Thursday at the 2016 ITA All-American. Ryotara Matsumura also competed and suffered a setback during the tournament.
Bushamuka took down Majed Kilani of the University of Tulsa in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3. He will face Christian Seraphim of Wake Forest on Friday at 10:00 a.m. ET.
“It was a good first round by Will and he took care of business,” said head coach Cedric Kauffmann. “I thought he stepped up his mental approach to each point when it mattered the most. He needs to build on this match and will need to stick to his game plan going forward.”
Matsumura was pushed to the consolation bracket in the ITA All-American after falling to Herkko Pollanen of Ohio State 6-2, 7-5. He will face Alexandru Ghilea of Oklahoma on Friday at 12:30 p.m. ET.
“Pollanen played a great match against Ryo,” said Kauffman. “Pollanen came out firing after winning three matches in the qualifiers. Ryo will need to bounce back quickly because the back draw is as strong as the front draw. He will have a great year when he starts settling down.”
The 2016 Saint Francis Health ITA Men’s All-American Championships span from Oct. 6 – Oct. 10. Live stats and live streaming of All-American play is available through Streaming Tennis. Following UK men’s tennis’ play in the All-American Championships, the team will head to Knoxville, Tenn. to compete in regional play beginning on Thursday, Oct. 20.
Mike Scholze