Jan. 22, 2011
LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 12 Kentucky men’s tennis team will kick start its 2011 spring schedule by hosting a tripleheader with Toledo, Xavier and University of the Cumberlands at the Hilary J. Boone Tennis Complex on Sunday.
UK will face each school in a dual-match, starting with Toledo at 10 a.m., followed by Xavier at 3 p.m. Kentucky will then take on the University of the Cumberlands to conclude the day at 7 p.m. All times are Eastern and live scores will be available at UKathletics.com.
“Our guys are really eager to play and get back out there and compete in dual matches,” said head coach Dennis Emery, who is entering his 29th season as the Kentucky head coach. “We have had a good fall and a really good SEC Indoors so we hope that momentum carries over into dual-match play.”
Kentucky enters the 2011 spring schedule as one of the top teams in the country, coming in at No. 12 in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association preseason rankings. The Wildcats will be led this season by a very talented and experienced team that returns two All-Americans from last year in senior Brad Cox and junior Eric Quigley along with talented upperclassmen in senior Alberto Gonzalez and junior Alex Musialek.
Quigley, ranked second in the nation in the ITA preseason singles poll, will lead the Kentucky charge. The native of Pewee Valley, Ky., is coming off a very impressive off season where he posted a 22-4 record advancing to the finals of the D’Novo/ITA All-American Championships, the USTA/ITA Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships and the Southeastern Conference Coaches Indoor Championships.
Musialek and Gonzalez also had good falls as both players advanced deep into the Ohio Valley Regional Indoor Championships. Musialek will begin the season ranked 39th in the nation, while Gonzalez is ranked 72nd. Cox, who is the first player in school history to advance to the NCAA Doubles Championships three consecutive seasons, will team with Quigley to headline UK’s double lineup.
The Wildcats have been very impressive at home over the past couple of years, gathering a 28-6 record at the Boone Tennis Complex in dual matches. Last year, Kentucky was 18-2 at home, while in 2009 UK posted a 10-4 record.
Admission to all of Kentucky’s home men’s tennis matches is free of charge. For more information on the Kentucky men’s tennis team visit UKathletics.com.
