Men's Tennis 2/13/2011 12:00:00 AM

Haley Wins Singles Match, But Vikings Fall at No. 12 Kentucky, 6-1

Feb. 13, 2011

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Senior John Haley earned a three set win at No. 4 singles for Cleveland State's lone point as the Vikings battled hard in a 6-1 setback at 12th-ranked Kentucky on Sunday night at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex.

The Vikings, who played at Kentucky in the first round of the NCAA tournament in each of the last two years, fell to 4-3 this season, while Kentucky improved to 8-2.

"What a great experience this was to play against a team of Kentucky's caliber," head coach Brian Etzkin said. "The guys were awesome today from the top of the order to the bottom and everyone played with so much intensity and enthusiasm. We only got one point, but I there were a few singles matches that could have gone either way and we battled to get three of the singles matches to three sets.

"It's tough to go into a match when you know that you are the underdog, but our guys came in with a lot of passion and did not make it easy for them. This is they type of match that will be a great learning experience for the guys as the season goes on. We will be able to learn from this and use this going forward. Nobody walked off the court with any regrets today."

Haley, playing No. 4 singles tonight, earned a 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 win over Alejandro Gomez for CSU's lone point.

"John was outstanding today," Etzkin said. "He saved three match points in the second set just to get to the third set and then really used that momentum to clinch the match."

Rob Fox (No. 2 singles) and Matt Kuelker (No. 3) also went three sets in their matches.

CSU will now be out of competitive action for 11 days, resuming play when the Vikings travel to Ohio State for a 12:00 p.m. match on Feb. 24.

Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex - Lexington, Ky.
No. 12 Kentucky 6, Cleveland State 1

Singles
#1 - No. 2 Eric Quigley def. Yannick Goossens (CSU) 6-4, 7-5
#2 - No. 39 Alex Musialek def. Robert Fox (CSU) 7-6 (7-5), 5-7, 6-1
#3 - Brad Cox (UK) def. Matt Kuelker (CSU) 6-3, 2-6, 7-5
#4 - John Haley (CSU) def. Alejandro Gomez (UK) 4-6, 7-5, 6-2
#5 - Grant Roberts (UK) def. Chris Klepatz (CSU) 6-2, 6-3
#6 - Maks Gold (UK) def. Matt Ford (CSU) 6-4, 6-1

Doubles
#1 - Alejandro Gomez/Grant Roberts (UK) def. Robert Fox/John Haley (CSU) 8-4
#2 - Ryuji Hirooka/Matt Davis (UK) def. Yannick Goossens/Matt Kuelker (CSU) 8-6
#3 - Not played

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