UK's Quigley reaches NCAA singles finals

Eric Quigley is one win away from being Kentucky's first national singles champion.

The UK senior advanced to the finals of the NCAA Singles Championships by beating Ohio State's Blaz Rola in the semifinals, 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1) Sunday in Athens, Ga.

Quigley joined Jesse Witten (2002) and Carlos Drada (2000) as the only UK players to reach the finals. Witten and Drada lost in the finals.

Quigley took a 2-0 lead in the tiebreaker and won 7-1 to punch his ticket to the championship match.

"I served very well again today, which is something I have done all tournament," Quigley said. "We both played really well in the third set and I kept telling myself to just get it to a tiebreaker and go from there. I was able to do that and I took some chances in the tiebreaker that went my way. It was a great match."

Quigley, ranked No. 3 in the nation, will face top-ranked Steve Johnson of Southern Cal on Monday at noon. Johnson, who beat Stanford's Bradley Klahn in the semifinals, has won 71 consecutive singles matches. His last loss came Jan. 17, 2011.

"It doesn't get any easier does it," Quigley said. "His record speaks for itself and he is a great player. ... I am just going to try to keep the same routine and play as relaxed as I can."

This story was originally published May 27, 2012 at 8:47 PM with the headline "UK's Quigley reaches NCAA singles finals."