Men's Tennis Knocks Off No. 33 Kentucky

Feb. 26, 2007

Lexington, Ky. - Freshman Jordan Walters pulled out a thrilling three-set singles victory to clinch a 4-3 win for the Furman men's tennis team over No. 33 University of Kentucky at Hilary J. Bonne Tennis Center on Monday afternoon. The match was a grueling five hours and 10 minutes long, and the Furman victory snapped the Wildcats' (5-4) three-match winning streak.

"This was a great match," said Paladin head coach Paul Scarpa. "We had different people step up and it was great to see it all come together. Matches like this are so important. We try to play the best and get that kind of experience and we certainly couldn't have gotten any more experience than we got today. We just hung in there and kept fighting.

After losing a tight doubles point yesterday at Tennessee, Furman (5-6) used wins at number one and number three doubles to take the early advantage in the match. At flight three, Andy Juc and Scott Kahler posted their fourth straight win with an 8-4 victory over Kenny Hodge and Roman Ogarkov. Bo Ladyman and Brian Crook rebounded from a tough 9-7 loss at Tennessee, securing the doubles point with an 8-6 win over Bruno Agostinelli and Marcus Sundh.

"Brian and I are playing very well together," commented Ladyman. "It seems like once we get going and get on top, things just come together. Brian makes some big plays and I do what I can."

In singles, Kentucky pushed ahead 2-1 with wins at number one and number three. Ladyman knotted the match at two with his 6-2, 7-5 win over Sundh at position two. Daniel Knause put Furman back on top with a 7-6 (3), 6-1 defeat of Shane Collins at number four. The match tied again after a Wildcat victory at position five, Walters pulled out a 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (3) win over Hodge to give Furman its first win over a top 35 opponent this year.

"Our tough schedule prepares us a great deal for conference play," said Ladyman. "We hit league play ready for all different match-ups because we've had to step up and play big-time competition."

Several Furman graduates attended the match at Kentucky, including former captains Art Baker '03 and Clinton Glasscock '93. Furman grads Brock MacKay, Nat Phillips and Brendan White were also in the Paladin cheering section.

Furman continues its spring break trip at Vanderbilt tomorrow at 3 p.m.

#73 Furman 4, #33 Kentucky 3
Doubles
No. 1 Bo Ladyman/Brian Crook (FU) def. Bruno Agostinelli/Marcus Sundh (UK) 8-6
No. 2 Peter Bjork/Will Ward (UK) def. Ryan Friend/Andy Sobczyk (FU) 8-4
No. 3 Andy Juc/Scott Kahler (FU) def. Kenny Hodge/Roman Ogarkov (UK) 8-4

Order of finish: 2, 1, 3

Singles
No. 1 No. 73 Bruno Agostinelli (UK) def. Andy Juc (FU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 2 Bo Ladyman (FU) def. Marcus Sundh (UK) 6-3, 7-5
No. 3 Peter Bjork (UK) def. Andy Sobczyk (FU) 7-5, 6-0
No. 4 Daniel Knause (FU) def. Shane Collins (UK) 7-6 (7-3), 6-1
No. 5 Will Ward (UK) def. Chris Gilli (FU) 6-3, 6-3
No. 6 Jordan Walters (FU) def. Kenny Hodge (UK) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7-3)

Order of finish: 1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6