May 18, 2002

College Station, Texas - The University of Kentucky men's tennis team defeated the No. 17 Duke Blue Devils 4-1 in the Round of 16 of the NCAA Championships on Saturday in College Station, Texas.

Kentucky took an early lead by capturing the doubles point. UK's senior duo of Gustav Pousette and Johan Grunditz grabbed the first victory at No. 2, just moments before the point was divided with a Kentucky loss at No. 3. With an 8-6 victory on the first court, the 49th-ranked duo of Evan Austin and Karim Benmansour dominated the match against No. 28 Phillip King and Michael Yani of Duke to secure UK's 1-0 lead.

The Blue Devils evened the score at 1-1 as No. 43 Yani defeated No. 61 Benmansour, 6-2, 6-3, at No. 2. Kentucky then tallied three straight victories to lead them into the Elite Eight. Sixth-ranked Jesse Witten grabbed a straight-set win over No. 11 King, 6-4,6-4, at No.1, while Grundtiz battled Duke's Joel Spicher on the fourth court. Grunditz dropped only two games in the first set for the 6-2 win, but Spicher started the second with four consecutive points. Down 4-1, Grunditz battled back and won the set, 6-4, giving UK the 3-1 lead.

With action on Courts 3, 5 and 6 all entering the third sets, it was Pousette who tallied the clinching point for Kentucky. Splitting sets with Yorke Allen on the fifth court, Pousette took the third with a powerful 6-4 win to suspend action on the remaining courts.

"I didn't think we played very well at No. 1 doubles," said Duke head coach Jay Lapidus. "The doubles point was very critical today and it may have been our undoing. We've come back a lot this season, but today we were under a lot of pressure. I thought we fought well, but [Kentucky] played a good match."

SINGLES
1. (#6) Jesse Witten (UK) def. (#11) Phillip King (Duke) 6-4,6-4
2. (#43) Michael Yani (Duke) def. (#61) Karim Benmansour (UK) 6-2,6-3
3. (#119) Evan Austin (UK) vs. Jason Zimmerman (Duke) DNF
4. (#97) Johan Grunditz (UK) def. Joel Spicher (Duke) 6-2,6-4
5. (#92) Gustav Pousette (UK) vs. Yorke Allen (Duke) 6-2,4-6,6-4
6. Matt Emery (UK) vs. Peter Shults (Duke) DNF

DOUBLES (Kentucky wins point)
1. (#49) Evan Austin/Karim Benmansour (UK) def. (#28) Phillip King/Michael Yani (Duke) 8-6
2. Johan Grunditz/Gustav Pousette (UK) def. Peter Shults/Joel Spicher (Duke) 8-4
3. Alex Bose/Jason Zimmerman (Duke) def. Rahim Esmail/Jesse Witten (UK) 8-6