University of Kentucky men’s tennis seniors Eric Quigley and Alex Musialek began their run in the 2012 NCAA Men’s Tennis Singles Championship by each posting first round wins on Wednesday at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex in Athens, Ga. UK junior Anthony Rossi dropped his first round match to second-seeded Mitchell Frank of Virginia.

This is the second consecutive season that Quigley and Musialek have advanced past the first round and into the round of 32. Both players will resume action in the event Thursday with Quigley taking on No. 18 Andreas Mies of Auburn at 10 a.m., while Musialek faces No. 52 Ignacio Taboada of Georgia at 1 p.m. Quigley will also participate in the NCAA Doubles Championship on Thursday when he teams with sophomore Panav Jha to battle Gregg Cohenca and Evan Zimmer of Bucknell at 3 p.m. ET. All times are Eastern.

“A really good start to the tournament for our guys,” UK head coach Dennis Emery said. “I was very pleased with how both Eric and Alex approached their matches today. It was a workmanlike performance by both players and I look forward to the same type of effort tomorrow in the second round. Anthony also gave great effort tonight, but just fell a little short to a premier player.”

Quigley, who is ranked third in the country and seeded third in the singles event, began the day with a straight-sets win over No. 41 Andre Dome of Cal-Poly. After starting off slow in the first set, Quigley rallied to earn a 7-5 win and continued that momentum into the second set for a 6-4 win to claim the match. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., is now 49-7 on the season.

Musialek, who is ranked 15th in the nation and seeded in the 9-16 group, would use a come-from-behind effort to get his first-round victory. The UK star held serve for much of the first set before No. 69 Damian Hume of Boise State was able to grab a late break and earn the 7-5 victory. Musialek would respond, getting an early break in the second set for a 6-1 win and then keeping the pressure on in the third set for a 6-2 victory to earn the match. The native of Dax, France, is now 29-11 on the season in singles.