Men's Tennis Falls 4-0 at No. 11 Kentucky

Friday, January 21

Lexington, KY

4:00 PM

University of Louisville

Kentucky

Josh Howard-Tripp prepares to serve the ball

Photo by: Taris Smith | Louisville Athletics

January 21, 2022 | Men's Tennis

Box Score

By: Lori Harmon

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Louisville men's tennis team --- No. 11 Kentucky at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex Friday evening.

"It was a really good match and I'm really proud of the way the guys competed," said UofL head coach Rodrigo da Silva. "We were playing against a highly-ranked team and we were in every match. I thought Natan looked really good in his first college match and Etienne and Tin Chen played well. Unfortunately, we couldn't play on courts five and six, because the match was clinched before that, but I liked the way the guys competed and we are looking forward to the rest of the season."

The Wildcats (3-0) took the doubles point to start the match. Kentucky's 34^th ranked duo of JJ Mercer and Joshua Lapadat gave their squad an early advantage with a 6-1 win against Sergio Hernandez and Alex Wesbrooks on court two. At the three-spot, Josh Howard-Tripp and Tin Chen battled with Francois Musitelli and Yasha Zemel before the Wildcat duo prevailed 6-4 to clinch the point. At the No. 1 spot, Liam Draxl and Millen Hurrion was leading Natan Rodrigues 5-3 when the match was suspended.

In singles, the Wildcats added to their lead at No. 4 spot where freshman, Natan Rodrigues fell 6-2, 7-6 (5) to No. 45 Francois Musitelli. At the top see, Etienne Donnet picked up a 6-0 win in the first set, but Liam Draxl subsequently posted 6-3, 6-2 wins to give UK a 3-0 lead. At the No. 2 spot, Josh Howard-Tripp rebounded from a 6-4 first set loss to beat Millen Hurrion 6-2 in the second set, but Millen took the decisive third set 6-2 to end the match.

Louisville (2-1) will return to action on Sunday when the Cardinal travel to Evanston, Ill., to take on Northwestern.

No. 11 Kentucky 4 – Louisville 0
January 21, 2022 | Lexington, Ky. | Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex
Doubles
1 – Natan Rodrigues/Etienne Donnett (UL) vs. Liam Draxl/Millen Hurrion (UK) 5-3
2 - #34 JJ Mercer/Joshua Lapadat (UK) d. Sergio Hernandez/Alex Wesbrooks (UL) 6-1
3 – Francois Musitelli/Yasha Zemel (UK) d. Josh Howard-Tripp/Tin Chen (UL) 6-4
(Order of Finish: 2,3)
Singles
1 – Liam Draxl (UK) d. Etienne Donnet (UL) 0-6, 6-3, 6-2
2 – Millen Hurrion (UK) d, Josh Howard-Tripp (UL) 6-4, 2-6, 6-2
3 – #4 Gabriel Diallo (UK) d. Tin Chen (UL) 6-1, 7-6
4 – #45 Francois Musitelli (UK) d. Natan Rodrigues (UL) 6-2, 7-6 (5), uf
5 – #90 Joshua Lapadat (UK) d. Sergio Hernandez (UL) did not play
6 – #122 Yasha Zemel (UK) d. David Mizrahi (UL) did not play
(Order of finish: 4, 1, 2)