UK MTEN Matsumura Falls in First Round of USTA/ITA National Intercollegiate Championships

Sophomore Ryotaro Matsumura of Kentucky men’s tennis fell in the first round of the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships to No. 16 Wayne Montgomery of Georgia, 6-1, 6-3 on Thursday. The event is hosted by Columbia University and held at the USTA-Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York.
“Ryo had a little bit of a rough start today and couldn’t quite recover,” head coach Cedric Kauffmann said. “Wayne played a good match beginning to end. Ryo will bounce back quickly. It’s a tough tournament and the best are here. The margin of error is small and details make the difference. We will try to bounce back tomorrow.”
Matsumura will face No. 14 Nicolas Alvarez of Duke on Friday at 2 p.m. in the first round of the consolation bracket. The quarterfinals and semifinals of the bracket will take place on Saturday, and the event will end on Sunday.
Four Wildcats will continue play for Kentucky men’s tennis at the SEC Fall Classic this weekend. Junior Jake Stefanik, junior Gus Benson, junior Trey Yates and freshman Alex Dominguez will all compete at the event in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The three-day event is hosted by the University of Alabama and will take place in the Alabama Tennis Stadium.
Stefanik and Benson both received a bye in the John Stimpson Main Draw of the tournament and will both compete on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Stefanik will face either Cameron Andry of LSU or Austin Rables of Arkansas while Benson will take on Arkansas’ Branch Terrell in the second round.
In the Jeff Robinson draw, Yates will face Auburn’s Conner Huertas on Friday at 12:30 p.m. Dominguez will compete in the Francisco Rodriguez draw and will matchup with Justin Butsch of LSU.
All four are also pairing up for doubles. Benson/Stefanik will take on Gabriel Friedrich and Harrison O’Keefe of South Carolina in the Ellis Ferriera draw on Friday at 9 a.m. Yates/Dominguez will play at the same time but in the Andy Solis draw against Alabama’s Ritchie Kruunenberg and Alexey Nesterov.
Mike Scholze