Cards Edged by Kentucky in Battle of the Bluegrass

Sunday, February 14

LOUISVILLE, KY

1:00 PM

University of Louisville

KENTUCKY

Sergio Hernandez returns the ball against Boston College

February 14, 2021 | Men's Tennis

Box Score UK v UL Box Score

Cards take doubles point and battle No. 19 Kentucky down to the wire

By: Kyle Echsner

Louisville, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team took their first loss of the season falling 4-2 to No. 19 Kentucky in the Battle of the Bluegrass Sunday afternoon at the Bass-Rudd Tennis Center.

The Cardinals, 4-1 on the season, took the doubles point to start that match. The No. 1 Louisville duo of Fabien Salle and Matthew Fung defeated Cesar Bourgois and Gabriel Diallo 6-3. Alex Wesbrooks and Josh Howard-Tripp clinched the doubles point for the Cardinals with a 6-4 win at No.3 over Yasha Zemel and Ying-Ze Chen.

"I am really happy how we competed," said Rodrigo da Silva, UofL head coach. "Even though we didn't get a win today, we gave ourselves a chance to get to four points. But at the end, we could not capitalize on those chances. Now it is time to get back to work as we prepare for our ACC opener."

In singles action, Sergio Hernandez extended Louisville's lead to 2-0 with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 123- ranked Joshua Lapadat at No. 3. Kentucky responded with a 7-5, 6-2 win at No. 2 with Gabriel Diallo defeating Fabien Salle for the Cats' first point in the match.

At No. 4, Cesar Bourgois dropped Louisville's Josh Howard-Tripp 6-1, 7-5 to tie the match at 2-2. At the No. 1 position, No. 71-ranked Tin Chen battled the No. 45 ranked Liam Draxl, before falling 6-4, 7-5.

All eyes turned to the final two courts, each playing in their third sets. UofL's Fung fell 6-4 in the first set to Zemel but then cruised to a 6-3 win in set two. The Wildcats jumped to a 5-3 lead in the third set, but Fung was tenacious and managed to tie the set at 5-5. However, Zemel held off the challenge to clinch the match for Kentucky, and move the Wildcats' record to 10-1.

Court six was left unfinished with Wesbrooks leading No. 114 Alexandre LeBlanc 4-2 in the third set.

Up Next: The Cardinals will travel on the road to No. 16 NC State on Friday at 4 p.m. and No. 14 Wake Forest Sunday at 1 p.m.
Tennis Match Results
Kentucky vs Louisville Men's Tennis
Feb 14, 2021 at Louisville, Kentucky
(Bass-Rudd Tennis Center)
#19 Kentucky 4, Louisville Men's Tennis 2
Singles competition
1. #45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. #71 Tin Chen (LOU-MT) 6-4, 7-5
2. Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Fabien Salle (LOU-MT) 7-5, 6-2
3. Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) def. #123 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 6-4, 6-4
4. Cesar Bourgois (UK) def. Josh Howard-Tripp (LOU-MT) 6-1, 7-5
5. Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Matthew Fung (LOU-MT) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
6. Alex Wesbrooks (LOU-MT) vs. #114 Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) 6-7, 6-4, 4-2, unfinished
Doubles competition
1. Fabien Salle/Matthew Fung (LOU-MT) def. Cesar Bourgois/Gabriel Diallo (UK) 6-3
2. Tin Chen/Sergio Hernandez (LOU-MT) vs. Liam Draxl/Alexandre LeBlanc (UK) 4-4, unfinished
3. Alex Wesbrooks/Josh Howard-Tripp (LOU-MT) def. Yasha Zemel/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) 6-4
Match Notes:
Kentucky 9-1; National ranking #19
Louisville Men's Tennis 4-0
Order of finish: Doubles (1,3); Singles (3,2,4,1,5)