March 8, 2012

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky women’s tennis team will begin its four-match road swing against No. 38 South Carolina and No. 2 Florida. The weekend matchup is set to begin at 3 p.m. ET on Friday in Columbia, S.C., where the Cats will take on the Gamecocks. The team will then travel to Gainesville, Fla. to face the Gators at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The Wildcats are coming off of two devastatingly close SEC showdowns. Kentucky hosted No. 43 LSU and No. 32 Arkansas, with each match coming down to the wire. Singles victories from Jessica Stiles, Edmée Morin-Kougoucheff and Stephanie Fox in both matches kept Kentucky in it, but the Wildcats ultimately dropped both matches, 4-3.

Kentucky will face tough opponents in South Carolina and Florida. Both teams boast ranked singles and doubles players. For South Carolina, Anya Morgina and Jaklin Alawi make up the 52^nd-ranked doubles team and the two hold the No. 34 and No. 64 singles rankings respectively.

Florida’s Allie Will occupies the No. 1 singles position and pairs up with Sofie Oyen for the No. 13 doubles spot. Lauren Embree and Joanna Mather are ranked 31^st in doubles play, and No. 23 and No. 18 respectively in singles. Sofie Oyen and Alex Cercone round out the pack in singles in the No. 39 and No. 49 slots.

Kentucky anticipates competitive play and hopes to enter the weekend strong.

For more information on the UK women’s tennis team, log on to UKathletics.com.