BLACKSBURG – For the second time in a one-week span, Virginia Tech men's tennis fell on the road to a ranked opponent – losing 5-2 to No. 19 Kentucky.
The Hokies (1-2) fell behind early by losing the doubles point to the Wildcats (8-0), then dropped another point on Court 1 when No. 45 Liam Draxl defeated Carlo Donato, 6-2, 6-1.
As has been a trend this season, Tech did not go down without a fight. Sophomore Matthis Ross put up a strong performance on Court 2, downing Millen Hurrion in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Freshman Hugo Maia scraped back into the match after dropping his first set and came out victorious against No. 123 Joshua Lapadat, 3-6, 6-1, 7-5.
The Hokies will take the court again on Sunday at 10 a.m. against MTSU inside the Burrows-Burleson Tennis Center.
SINGLES
1. #45 Liam Draxl (UK) def. Carlo Donato (VT) 6-2, 6-1
2. Matthis Ross (VT) def. Millen Hurrion (UK) 6-4, 6-4
3. Gabriel Diallo (UK) def. Alex Ribeiro (VT) 6-2, 6-1
4. Hugo Maia (VT) def. #123 Joshua Lapadat (UK) 3-6, 6-1, 7-5
5. Cesar Bourgois (UK) def. Alvaro Saez-Royuela Ariza (VT) 7-6 (7-4), 7-5
6. Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Ryan Fishback (VT) 6-4, 7-6 (7-3)
DOUBLES
1. Gabriel Diallo/Cesar Bourgois (UK) def. Jordan Chrysostom/Alex Ribeiro (VT) 6-3
2. Millen Hurrion/Yasha Zemel (UK) vs. Ryan Kros/Carlo Donato (VT) 5-3, unfinished
3. Alexandre Leblanc/Liam Draxl (UK) def. Mitch Harper/Matthis Ross (VT) 6-1