Staff report | @KyKernelSports

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Men’s squad edged by Illinoi

Following last week’s upset of No. 8 Oklahoma, UK men’s tennis fell on the road to No. 19 Illinois for its first loss of the season, 4-3.

“Illinois did a really good job of closing out the match,” said UK head coach Cedric Kauffmann in a news release. “We gave a really good effort tonight.”

The Cats (6-1) won the doubles point for the seventh time this year, extending an impressive streak of winning every doubles point so far.

The point was clinched by the duo of junior Grant Roberts and senior Anthony Rossi, who won in a tiebreak, 8-7.

In singles, Rossi defeated Stephen Hoh of Illinois, 6-4, 6-4, after losing his first match of the season last year.

Junior Tom Jomby was upset by Jared Hiltzik, 7-5, 7-6. The loss comes after Jomby had been decimating his opponents in the run up to the Illinois match.

Illinois went on to win three of the remaining four singles matches to complete the upset.

The match was No. 7 UK’s sixth straight against a top-50 team and will continue into the week as the Cats host Notre Dame at 1 p.m. Tuesday.

The Cats also will host Eastern Kentucky that evening, with that match is slated start at 7 p.m. at the Boone Indoor Complex.

Women’s squad defeated by Tulan

The women’s tennis team dropped its second straight match Saturday, losing, 6-1, to Tulane.

Tulane clinched the doubles point, with the clinching point coming in a tiebreak with UK’s tandem of senior Jessica Stiles and sophomore Stephanie Fox, losing 8-7 (5).

The Green Wave didn’t slow down, picking up three quick singles victories to clinch the match, including Klara Vyskocilova’s straight sets win over freshman Nadia Ravita. The loss was Ravita’s first of the year.

The Cats got their only point of the day from freshman Kirsten Lewis, who defeated Tulane’s Caroline Magnusson, 0-6, 7-6, 1-0 (7).

The Cats will next travel to Columbus, Ohio, to meet up with Ohio State.

The match will be UK’s third road match out of the past four and is slated to begin at 4 p.m.