LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Dayton men's tennis team opened the spring season Saturday, dropping both matches to twelfth-ranked Kentucky at Hilary J. Boone Varsity Tennis Club in Lexington.
 
Dayton drops to 0-2 on the new season, while Kentucky sits at 2-0 in 2022. UD competed against four members of Kentucky who are currently ranked in the top 125 in singles play in the nation by ITA in the team's first action since the Cleveland State Invitational last October.
 
The Flyers fell 5-0 in the first match, dropping the doubles point to open the contest. Senior Joe DeMarco and junior Matt DeMarco kept pace with Kentucky's pair of Joshua Lapadat and J.J. Mercer, who are ranked as the 34^th best doubles pair in the country by ITA, in No. 2 doubles before falling 6-4.
 
Junior Connor Bruce matched up with the reigning ITA National Player of the Year Liam Draxl and hung with him early before falling in straight sets. Sophomore Ronit Hiryur, senior Will Harper, and Matt DeMarco also all made their spring debuts in the opening contest, with each falling in straight sets.
 
In the second match of the day between the two, the Flyers fell 4-0 with different matchups at every position. Dayton fell in the doubles point, and again went into singles play down 1-0.
 
Junior Georgi Mavrodiev held a lead in No. 4 singles in set two after dropping the first, but UD failed to take a set from the Wildcats in the first three singles flights as senior Steven Karl, freshman Eric Perkowski, and Joe DeMarco joined Mavrodiev making their spring debuts in singles play in the second of the two matches.
 
The Flyers will head to Louisville on Tuesday, Jan. 18, to take on the Cardinals at Bass-Rudd Tennis Center. The match is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.
 
MATCH 1
Singles:
Liam Draxl (UK) def. Connor Bruce (Dayton) 6-1, 6-3
#45 Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur (Dayton) 6-2, 6-0
#90 Joshua Lapadat (UK) def. Matt DeMarco (Dayton) 6-2, 6-4
#122 Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Will Harper (Dayton) 6-2, 6-1
 
Doubles:
Liam Draxl/Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Connor Bruce/Max DeCurtins (Dayton) 6-1
#34 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. Joe DeMarco/Matt DeMarco (Dayton) 6-4
Yasha Zemel/Francois Musitelli (UK) def. Ronit Hiryur/Georgi Mavrodiev (Dayton) 6-2
 
MATCH 2
Singles:
Millen Hurrion (UK) def. Steven Karl (Dayton) 6-1, 6-2
#89 JJ Mercer (UK) def. Eric Perkowski (Dayton) 6-1, 6-2
#122 Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Joe DeMarco (Dayton) 6-1, 6-1
Jonathan Sorbo (UK) vs. Georgi Mavrodiev (Dayton) 6-0, 4-5
 
Doubles:
#34 Joshua Lapadat/JJ Mercer (UK) def. Max DeCurtins/Joe DeMarco (Dayton) 6-3
Francois Musitelli/Yasha Zemel (UK) def. Will Harper/Connor Bruce (Dayton) 6-3
Millen Hurrion/Ying-Ze Chen (UK) def. Eric Perkowski/Steven Karl (Dayton) 6-1