Kentucky now 4-0 in men’s tennis following sweep of Bellarmine
Cesar Bourgois and assistant coach Matthew Gordon run through a drill during warm-ups before the Kentucky vs. Notre Dame men’s tennis match on Saturday, January 19, 2019 in Lexington, Kentucky. Photo by Natalie Parks | Staff
January 28, 2021
The No. 21 Wildcats men’s team looked to continue their hot start and stay undefeated on Wednesday afternoon, as they hosted in-state foe Bellarmine inside the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex. After things were finished, they were able to break out their brooms.
The Cats wasted no time, getting right to work in doubles play. Ying-Ze Chen and Gabriel Diallo claimed victory quickly on court 2, defeating Ian Deiters and Paul Reynolds 6-1.
Freshman duo Tate Sandman and Joshua Lapadat weren’t far behind, winning 6-2 against the Knight tandem of Emil B. Berglund and Eli Franks, claiming the doubles point for the Wildcats. UK is still yet to drop a doubles point this season.
Singles play saw Kentucky bring out a new lineup, one featuring four sophomores and two freshmen. The different card didn’t affect their performance in the slightest.
The Cats’ lead quickly doubled on court one, as Liam Draxl defeated Cole Groetsch 6-0, 6-1. Draxl, a sophomore out of Newmarket, Ontario, is currently the No. 45 singles player in the country and is undefeated at 4-0 in singles play this year.
Not too long after Draxl, fellow Canadian Alexandre LeBlanc found victory after besting Reynolds 6-3, 6-1. The Montreal native came into today ranked No. 114 in singles play and moves to 2-0 in solo play.
Diallo, another Montreal native, made it 4-0 in favor of the Wildcats and sealed the victory, as he defeated Berglund 6-4, 6-2.
No. 123 Lapadat kept it coming for the Cats, beating Evan Bottorff 6-2, 6-3, in what was his first singles match of the year.
Not to be outdone was redshirt sophomore Jonathan Sorbo. The Toronto native didn’t drop a single game in his match against Deiters, winning 6-0, 6-0.
And last but not least was Heman Nama. The freshman out of Bangalore, India saw his first action of the year and put it to good use. He defeated Franks 6-3, 6-2, capping off a great afternoon for the Wildcats, a convincing 7-0 sweep of Bellarmine.
Through four matches this season, Kentucky has allowed just two points, including zero over its last three.
The Cats look to keep their great start up on Sunday, when they will host the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Start time is set at 1:00 p.m. E.T. inside the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.
